by Laura Kressly

Adam Mickiewicz is widely considered Poland’s equivalent to Shakespeare. His play Dziady is split into four parts, the second of which inspires this ritualistic, highly visual performance. Created by Song of the Goat Theatre founder Grzegorz Bral and performed in Polish, excellent design and heightened emotion communicate universal feelings around death and grief despite the language barrier.

Wikipedia says that part II of Dziady tells of “Lithuanian peasants…summoning ghosts to ensure them the access to heaven”. Here, presumably this is done through the large ensemble regularly chanting/singing a choral refrain. Their voices are in turn angry and mournful, and they are immensely expressive. They are led by an older woman and man whose prominence in the staging suggests they are the elders or chieftains of this social group. This pair also speak to us in between the chanting, presumably about those representing the summoned spirits. These spoken sections are mostly calmer and quieter monologues, and often delivered by the man, indicating a patriarchal society. The programme says there is also commentary on contemporary Poland, but this is missed by non-Polish speakers. A translation, whether in the form of captions or a script, would be hugely helpful at a festival primarily consisting of English speakers.

Because of this, the costumes are a particular highlight. meticulously crafted with care and attention, they evoke a pre-Christian world of tribal people living in a harsh environment. Cloaks are layered with strips of fabric and fake fur, and topped with ceremonial headdresses designed to look like animal skulls. The apparently artificial replicas are impressive in their scale. The longer spent studying the costumes, the more detail is noticed. On the largely bare stage, they also function as scenography, indicating the ancient setting. Though there are clear disadvantages to seeing this show as a non-Polish speaker, there’s also plenty of value in seeing it.

Gusla runs through 27 August.

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