An artistic journey into the world of counterculture, the times of identity and cultural revolution at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. Krystian Lupa used the lyrics of “Imagine” by John Lennon as a starting point and he asks a question about the liveliness of utopias in today’s world, in which spirituality has become commercialized or politicized and humanistic values, human rights, equality and personal freedom have been devaluated.
The director comes back to the psychological and spiritual New Age phenomenon and the life and creation of John Lennon, who as a “new Christ” of the hippie era suggested imagining a world without wars, countries and borders, without hate and ownership, but also without religion.
Do New Age visions sound purely naive in our times? Is faith in an endless evolution of humanity and metaphysics a fantasy or an eternal need of mankind? Why did the pacifistic idea fail so quickly in the 70s? Does the need for a spiritual transformation enhance in times of a crisis?
Production
Teatr Powszechny im. Zygmunta Hübnera w Warszawie/ Teatr Powszechny w Łodzi, Poland
Creative
direction and scenography – Krystian Lupa
script – Krystian Lupa & collective creation of actors
music – Bogumił Misala
costumes – Piotr Skiba
production manager – Michalina Żemła/Karolina Pawłoś
video – Joanna Kakitek, Natan Berkowicz
director’s assistants and dramaturgy collaboration – Dawid Kot
director’s assistants – Jan Kamiński
costume collaboration – Aleksandra Harasimowicz
stage manager – Iza Stolarska