Future Tales (Sierakowski)by Komuna //Warszawa is based on the politics of Sławomir Sierakowski, a 34 year old ‘left-wing intellectual and activist’ who has become a prominent figure in Polish politics in the last few years. The play describes itself as ‘a fictitious future biography’ that uses as its material not only the man himself, but also the writers he reads and promotes. Among these writers are the philosophers Slavoj Žižek and Jacques Rancière.
Armed with this information when I entered the theatre, I was ready for an evening of thinking, a theatre piece that was not so concerned with connecting to the audience through their hearts as through their minds. The tone of the performance was mostly serious and played out on the same level throughout – a level that did indeed demand serious thought from the audience. Framed by a series of imaginary key events in Sierakowski’s life - the birth of his child, an alien invasion, his election to presidency among others - manifestos were presented to the audience in Polish, while English subtitles were projected onto the back of the stage.
Music played a big part in the performance; the two musicians were key in setting the sombre mood of the evening, and the text was often sung to music. Ridiculously high voices were sometimes used by the performers to undermine the thoughts of Sierakowski, and humour was used to unravel his theories. There were some lovely moments of theatre in the performance.
However, a greater level of integration between the more physical moments and the texts being recited, as well as a bit more lightheartedness overall, would have been more effective.Future Tales is one of the more unusual performances I have seen, both in terms of its subject matter and its presentation – though I’m still not convinced about the use of Sierakowski as subject matter. As a performative event Future Tales falls down, but as a presentation of a man’s ideas it was interesting and at a time when ‘the wind of history is blowing’ there is certainly a need for political engagement in the arts.
