DOGVILLE. Director Aleksandra Popławska

The diploma play for the graduating students of the Acting Department of the Ludwik Solski State Drama School in Kraków, directed by Aleksandra Popławska, is a theatrical adaptation of Lars von Trier’s cult film. The starting point of this highly allegorical tale is the appearance of Grace, the protagonist, in the small village in the Rocky Mountains that gives the piece its title. This town and its people become a lens through which the play focuses on the cruelest mechanisms that govern human nature. The convincingly performed scenes of mutual polite introductions between Grace and the community from the beginning of the play suddenly change into the perverse, brutal games that the people of Dogville initiate with her. The director, together with the young actors, offers the audience a precise and captivating study of the vicious cycle of violence, which has an impact far beyond the stage world.

“The action of Dogville evolves at an unhurried pace, yet there are some really poignant scenes where you can enjoy a spectacle. I was impressed by Martha’s conversation with God, during which the widow asks the Creator return her husband. My attention was caught without a doubt by Tom, seemingly good man whose hypocrisy manifests itself with increasing force. And in the final scene, Grace’s humiliation is really poignant.

All the actors playing in Dogville created distinctive roles, showcasing their talents. One should see the diploma play Dogville. An evening certainly will not be lost.”

(Magda Huzarska-Szumiec, “Polska Gazeta Krakowska”)