On 7 November 2024, during this year’s 34th edition of the Euro-scene Leipzig - International Dance and Theatre Festival, the choral performance “Mothers. A Song for Wartime”, directed by Marta Górnicka, will be presented. Twenty-one women – Ukrainians, Poles, and Belarusians – will take the stage, using music to share their experiences of the war that began in February 2022. This is one of the events showcasing Polish contemporary art in Germany, supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
“Mothers. A Song for Wartime” – Choir in Leipzig
The wartime rituals of violence against women remain unchanged despite the passage of time. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine raises profound questions for Europe about its responsibility in the face of danger and about human defense mechanisms. The performance “Mothers. A Song for Wartime” seeks to create a new, post-opera choral voice, drawing on the women’s choirs of the 7th century BC to address these difficult topics. Their singing becomes an accusation, a plea, and a warning to all Europeans.
The women use the power of their voices to tame the unspoken, drawing on their national tradition of singing. Ukrainian counting rhymes, traditional songs, incantations, and political statements are mixed together. The performance “Mothers. A Song for Wartime” opens with Shchedrivka (Ukrainian: щедрівка), a traditional Ukrainian – a wish for happiness and rebirth. The ritual of singing Shchedrivkas was performed by women, sometimes with children, but always directed towards a specific person. Today, these sung wishes are addressed to all people, for a new time, for a lifetime.
Performance “Mothers. A Song for Wartime” photo: Bartek Warzęcha
A performance about the war in Ukraine through the eyes of women
Based on the testimonies of mothers and children – Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Polish women – director Marta Górnicka and her ensemble created a choral performance. The stage intertwines the accounts of women who fled war and persecution in Mariupol, Kyiv, Irpin, and Kharkiv, as well as those who opened their homes to them in Poland. 21 women, aged 9 to 71, appear before an international audience, each with their own political experience and life story. The premiere of the performance “Mothers. A Song for Wartime” took place at the Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw on 29 September 2023. During the 34th edition of the Euro-scene Leipzig – International Dance and Theatre Festival, the performance will be presented on 7 November 2024, at 7:30 p.m. on the Main Stage of Schauspiel Leipzig.
The actresses include: Katerina Aleinikova, Svitlana Berestovska, Sasha Cherkas, Palina Dabravolskaja, Katarzyna Jaźnicka, Volha Kalakoltsava, Ewa Konstanciak, Liza Kozlova, Anastasiia Kulinich, Natalia Mazur, Kamila Michalska, Hanna Mykhailova, Valeriia Obodianska, Svitlana Onischak, Yuliia Ridna, Maria Robaszkiewicz, Polina Shkliar, Aleksandra Sroka, Mariia Tabachuk, Kateryna Taran, Bohdana Zazhytska, Elena Zui-Voitekhovskaya. The concept and direction were by Marta Górnicka. The producers are FUNDACJA CHÓR KOBIET (Warsaw) and Maxim Gorki Theater (Berlin), while the co-producers include the Powszechny Theater in Warsaw, Festival d’Avignon, Maillon Théâtre de Strasbourg Scène européenne, SPRING Performing Arts Festival (Utrecht), and Tangente St. Pölten – Festival für Gegenwartskultur (Austria). The project is co-financed by the Capital City of Warsaw and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Promotion of Culture funds and was created in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation.
Performance “Mothers. A Song for Wartime” photo: Bartek Warzęcha
Polish Constitution in Leipzig
The performance “Mothers. A Song for Wartime” is not the only event during Euro-scene Leipzig presenting Polish contemporary art. During the reading marathon at St. Nicholas’ Church in Leipzig, titled “WAS AUF DEM SPIEL STEHT”, readers and listeners can reflect on how far we have come from the first definition and proclamation of universal human rights in the 18th century to the current recognition of equality and dignity for all, as well as the challenges that remain relevant. The basis of this reflection will be selected legal acts issued in various European countries over different centuries, all framed in the context of the presidential elections in the USA.
During the several-hour event on 5 November 2024, at 2:00 p.m., Agnieszka Rudzińska from the Adam Mickiewicz Institute will present “The Constitution of the Republic of Poland” from 1997, as one of the texts that document how people have fought over the centuries for values that today provide us, as a society, with a framework of guidelines and explanations – and thus the foundation of human rights, freedom, and democracy.
The events during Euro-scene Leipzig are part of the presentation of Polish contemporary art in Germany, supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.