Idea

XII International Theatre Festival Retroperspektywy 2023

GENERATIONS

August 18-27, 2023

CHOREA Theatre / Art Factory in Lodz

The theme of the 2023 RPS Festival revolves around what builds tensions between generations, what is seeking for understanding, or reconstruction, or conscious breaking with, or comprehending what connections are about, and above all, it is an attempt to find yourself in intergenerational relationships. Hence the slogan – GENERATIONS – to which we dedicate this year’s edition of the Festival.

In times of rapid changes, conflicts, destruction of relationships, loss of meaning, and questioning mental and family ties, our first reaction is to look for answers from our loved ones. Does each generation have to redefine itself? Will the memory of old values save us in times of an eruption of threats, or will it rather be a new, purifying understanding of the world, one that rejects the past as an archaic failure? Do the post-war generations, ones that today live in the face of a real war and a real climate catastrophe, need new values, new guideposts, and new heroes? Who are our parents, grandparents, and who are their children? Do we pass on something more in our genes than DNA codes and the ability to reproduce them? Do we pass on something more than traumas, fears, and confusion to the future generations? What do we want to provide young people with, apart from economic security? What do we need each other for? What do we want to save in the world with their hands and their minds? Is it necessary at all?

The theatre lists these questions as one of the most important ones for us and for contemporary art. Through various narratives, and often also through the personal stories of the artists, the theatre tells us – in different ways and in different languages – that in key moments of life, when we ask about who we really are (or who we are not for sure), the answer must be sought in our relationships. With our father, mother, ancestors, and our child. The world itself – in its danger, madness, uncontrollable repulsions – will not give us an answer.

Tomasz Rodowicz
Artistic Director of the International Theatre Festival Retroperspektywy

The International Theatre Festival Retroperspektywy (RPS) has been held cyclically since 2010 in Fabryka Sztuki at 3 Tymienieckiego Street in Lodz. Having the form of a festival, it offers the most attractive theatre and dance proposals from Poland and other parts of the world. The event can be characterised by high professionalism of performers, uniqueness and coherence of the programme, availability to a wide and diversified audience, rich offer of workshops and meetings with eminent authors of theatre arts.

We want to consistently continue with our development, which has been occurring for a couple of years now, and organise yet another edition of the international festival to invite outstanding artists with their theatre, dance and music performances. We will make it possible for the audience to take part in the World of Theatre whose main aim is a discourse on contemporary reality as well as a search for original means of artistic expression. Long-time consistency of getting through to various social groups (intellectuals, people from underserved communities, elderly, students, youth, families with children) and building festival audience development contributed to the event being popular and widely recognized on the cultural map of Lodz. Festival goes beyond regular undertakings of CHOREA Theatre and it allows performances by Polish and international artists who deal with the art of theatre and dance. It is an excuse and an extraordinary chance for performances that CHOREA Theatre co-creates with international theatres and artists. An important idea, that promotes the festival from the very beginning, is creating a bridge between searching novices and stage masters, between tradition and avant-garde.

Project financed by the City of Łódź.