PolBud Cabaret

A programme of comedy, performance and music inspired by the Polish entertainment scene of the 50s-90s and the cinematic classic by Feliks Falk “Wodzirej”. Commissioned by the Polish Cultural Institute London for Kinoteka Film Festival 2023.

The future of a resident theatre troupe is threatened by the greedy property developer PolBud. The pressure on the troupe’s manager to cut costs mounts in the course of the evening, but the show must go! Working hard to win over the audience - busy scoffing meaty cutlets and succulent pierogi - artists get the evening started with hits such as Daj Mi Tę Noc (Give Me Tonight) and Śpiewać Każdy Może (Anyone Can Sing A Song) as a bi-lingual duet sharply mocking the celebrity culture. Comedy sketches from Kabaret Dudek in contemporary translation, such as The Queue, present a surprisingly accurate metaphor for the socio-political confusion caused by Brexit. A glamorous remake of the iconic TV call in Koncert Zyczen (Concert of Wishes & Complaints) with an unexpected romantic plot makes many guests blush. The emotionally resilient audience members have their class conscience awakened by the builders’ unexpected rendition of the social-realism inspired poetry in the form of a rap performance. As the grand venue turns into a construction site in front of everybodys’ eyes, the audience is pushed to the limits of their comfort zone to reflect on the role of art and creativity in safeguarding a space for discussion about contemporary Polish culture, society and our relationship with our history as well as future.


PolBud Cabaret was a result of a research into the Polish entertainment scene of the 50s-90s, mostly produced by Stoleczna Estrada in Warsaw. Estrada is a French word meaning “stage.” In the USSR - including Communist Poland (1945-89), it came to refer to big-name performing pop stars. There has also historically been a political aspect to estrada as well, with most of its artists being active in social and/or political issues in some way. Thus, estrada refers not just to musical genre, but also to performance style and more broadly to lifestyle as well (from PopKult.org) Polish estrada music dominated Polish popular music throughout the state socialist period but gained little attention from popular music scholars because it was regarded as being of low quality and politically conformist (from “Polish Estrada Music - Organisation, Stars and Representation” by Ewa Mazierska)


Created by
Margot Przymierska and the Cast

Cast
Tomasz Brajter
Krystian Godlewski
Adam Hypki
Margot Przymierska
Zuza Tehanu
Mikey Weinkove
Barbara Kaczmarczyk
Emilia Emiliyah Witkiewicz aka Emz

Music
Tomasz Brajter
Emilia Emiliyah Witkiewicz aka Emz

Set Design
Mikey Weinkove

Guest performance by Ms Paolini’s Phantasmagoria

Photos: Joanna Zeman vel Haratyk