Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

Gardzienice, a widely respected Polish experimental theater group run by Wlodzimierz Staniewski, has produced six theatrical works in total; they usually spend years working on a specific piece, and have recently concentrated on ancient theater texts mixed with music, often Polish folk song. The company has been praised by downtown tastemakers like Richard Schechner, Andre Gregory and Susan Sontag—the tough-to-please Sontag even called Staniewski’s group “one of the few essential theatre companies working anywhere in the world today.” So it comes as something of a surprise to see the obvious shortcomings of their latest offering, “Iphigenia at Aulis,” based on the Euripides tragedy.

“Iphigenia” runs about thirty-five minutes, and most of it is in Polish. This wouldn’t be a problem if the performers were really specific about what they were doing, but they seem both physically involved and emotionally distant. Such distance doesn’t seem like a choice as much as a chronic disengagement with the material. The tragic sacrifice of Iphigenia should be devastating: instead, it is elegantly staged and rather cold. The magic element that would make this a stirring experience is missing, and what is left is endless posturing and blank-eyed singing out to the audience. Familiarity with the Polish tongue cannot possibly help, since the script, provided in press notes, reveals reams of expository backstory, and all the Grotowski-like stomping in the world can’t really put any of it over if the actors hearts aren’t in it.