Agata Skwarczyńska’s ‘Anatomy lesson – reconfiguration’ is intended as a dialogue with Tadeusz Kantor’s happening, who returned to the staging of Rembrandt’s painting (‘The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp’) as many as four times.
At the same time Skwarczynska’s performance is a new realisation in the catalogue of attempts to reconstruct the famous painting, an event whose intention is to shift meanings and gestures. The concept of the performance this time emerge from a female perspective, and the performers are disabled and non-neurotypical persons, often excluded from the ‘mainstream’ perspective.
Rembrandt’s painting bears witness to a crime carried out by the researcher, a process of destruction, in which the body is broken into pieces. Also in the case of the present reconfiguration the focus shifts towards the object of dissection: what lies on the dissection table, defines not only the area of discovery, but also its scale and momentousness. On the dissecting table there are successively: a dressed mannequin, a taxidermied fox attached to a rock, a monstera removed from a pot. Performing Kantor’s part, Amelia Blus applies a similar dissection procedure to each, using paraphrased text from the original happening, the unique properties of the objects revealing the limitations of Kantor’s method.
Also transformed in Agata Skwarczyńska’s project are the Rembrandtian and Kantorian figures of the doctor’s disciples gathered at the dissecting table. In the performance, they step out of the roles of extras supporting the scholar’s knowledge-power discourse with their attention and actively contribute to the deconstruction of the image.
As Zuzanna Berndt points out in her review : ‘In the new Anatomy Lesson one can see both the Skwarczyńska’s awareness of the aesthetic and political aspects of Rembrandt’s and Kantor, as well as her sensitivity to the group dynamics creatively involved in the creation of performance. For her, the works she refers to are an open score that does not define the framework of what can happen, and sets out a path to go beyond patterns of thinking that, from today’s perspective, are worth abandoning.”
Acting team
Amelia Blus (born in 2004) – a graduate of Stefan Czarniecki General Education High School No. 6 in Szczecin, where she was in a class specializing in biology and chemistry. After being diagnosed with the autism spectrum disorder, she attended SST (Social Skills Training) at the National Autism Society. In 2023, was a part of A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Justyna Sobczyk and Jakub Skrzywanek at the Contemporary Theater in Szczecin, where she is a guest actor. In the same year, she was a member of the line-up for The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska at CRICOTEKA.
Anna Komorek (born in 1995) is an actress at the Helena Modjeska National Old Theater in Kraków, where she appears in two performances: An Enemy of the People directed by Jan Klata and Szewcy directed by Justyna Sobczyk. In 2023, she was a member of the line-up for The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska at CRICOTEKA. She lives and works in Kraków. She has Down’s syndrome.
Julia Karaś (born in 1999) attended primary school and junior high school in Radziszów, where she was in an integrated class. She then graduated from a vocational high school in Kraków, becoming a master confectioner. However, she does not work in her profession. Instead, she is an administrative/office employee, working remotely. Her acting debut, and also the fulfillment of a dream from the past, was being a part of The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska. She has Down’s syndrome.
Dorota Wach (born in 1994) graduated from the Level I School of Music attached to the Hieronim Henryk Baranowski Special Schooling and Upbringing Facility for Blind and Visually Impaired Children in Kraków. She appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Cezary Tomaszewski (2016). With Joanna Pawlik, she recorded two videos: Ode (2018), where she sang the Ode to Joy in Polish and in German, and Threnody (2017), where she performed a portion of Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Górecki. She has links to Cricoteka because of being a part of The Room of the Absent directed by Joanna Pawlik (as part of the Open Cricoteka 2001 program). A participant of workshops organized as part of the Youth Learning Through Arts (Erasmus+) project. She is also an actress on The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska. She has been blind since birth.
Maciej Trybus (born in 1996) attended special schools in Kraków: primary, junior high, and vocational. While a pupil, he was a member of the “Czwórka” dancing group and the “Itaka i owaka” theater group; the latter successfully participated in a number of festivals. In 2008, together with Leszek Blanik, a world champion in gymnastics, he appeared in a TV advertisement for the TVN You Are Not Alone Foundation. Since October 2015, he has been a part of The Enemy of the People at the Helena Modjeska National Stary Theater, directed by Jan Klata, playing the role of one of Dr. Stockmann’s sons. The performance has also been staged at various theatrical festivals in Poland, including in Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań, Katowice, Rzeszów, Białystok, Łódź, and Świdnica, and abroad, including in Wuzhen (China), Bratislava, Prague, and Petersburg. In September 2023, Maciej was a part of The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska. He has Down’s syndrome.
Klaudia Surman (born in 1996) graduated from Special Schooling and Upbringing Facility No. 3 and Special Vocational School No. 9 in Kraków. Currently, she attends the Mutual Help House at Piekarska 3 in Kraków. She takes active part in performances, reviews, and contests organized by the MIT theatrical group. She is also an actress on The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska. She is a person with a high degree of disability.
Agnieszka Sito (born in 1980) graduated from the Special Primary School and the Special Vocational School attached to a Special Schooling and Upbringing Facility in Kraków. Since 2001, she has been attending therapeutic classes at the Mutual Help House at Piekarska 3 in Kraków. She is a member of the MIT theatrical group. She is also an actress on The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska. She is a person with a high degree of disability.
Magdalena Mrzygłocka (born in 1975) graduated from Special Primary School at Lubomirskiego 21 in Kraków. For 15 years, she has been attending the Mutual Help House at Piekarska 3 in Kraków. She is the frontperson of the MIT theatrical group. She is also an actress on The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska. She is a person with a high degree of disability.
Władysław Kita (born in 1957) graduated from the Special Primary School at Wietora 7 in Kraków. He attends the Mutual Help House at Piekarska 3 in Kraków. He is a member of the MIT theatrical group. He is also an actor on The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska. He is a person with a high degree of disability.
Maciej Rams (born in 1977) graduated from the so-called School of Life, i.e., the Special Primary School at Wietora 7 in Kraków. He attends the Mutual Help House at Piekarska 3 in Kraków. He has been a member of the MIT theatrical group from the beginning. He is also an actor on The Anatomy Lesson Reconfigured directed by Agata Skwarczyńska. He is a person with a high degree of disability.
Concept & Performance design: Agata Skwarczyńska
Dramaturgy: Monika Świerkosz
Coordination: Anna Bargiel, Justyna Droń, Małgorzata Raczkowska, Anna Rejowska
Performers: Amelia Blus, Julia Karaś, Władysław Kita, Anna Komorek, Magdalena Mrzygłocka, Maciej Rams, Agnieszka Sito, Klaudia Surman, Maciej Trybus, Dorota Wach.
Company : Cricoteka – the Tadeusz Kantor Museum and a modern cultural institution.
Month and year of production: September 2023
Partners: Biuro Wystaw Artystycznych Tarnów, Gminny Ośrodek Kultury i Wypoczynku w Wielopolu Skrzyńskim
Implementation team: Mariusz Gąsior Małgorzata Kmita – Fugiel, Magdalena Link-Lenczowska, Zofia Mikołajska, Aldona Mikulska, Andrea Nikolov, Agnieszka Oprządek, Anna Rejowska, Aleksandra Treder, Michał Warmusz
Media partners: Gazeta Wyborcza, e-teatr, Radio Kraków, Radio Kraków Kultura
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund
