“Am I of this, or of the other world?
…I never can climb the heights of heaven
Nor touch the earth: blown, blustered, driven…”

In the second part of Mickiewicz’s "Forefathers’ Eve", we encounter foreign souls and our own shadows: while following Mickiewicz’s heroes, we observe ourselves—entangled in ambiguous and contradictory desires, erring and seeking community.

In "Forefathers' Eve II", we use dance to create space for an exchange of energy, and a renewing of the connection between the individual and the community—the real one and the imaginary ones. As John Berger wrote, "story-time (the time within a story) is not linear. The living and the dead meet as listeners and judges within this time, and the greater the number of listeners felt to be there, the more intimate the story becomes to each listener."

The ritual described by the Polish bard becomes an opportunity to renew the relationality between the living and the un/dead within the safe confines of a staged encounter. Understood in this way, "Forefathers' Eve II" creates a time-space to which we invite all peculiar absences/presences—that which is unfamiliar to us and that which is unfamiliar within us. And we invite you as well—join the ritual to experience it anew.

Choreography: Monika Błaszczak
Dramaturgy: Teresa Fazan
Set design and video: Ewelina Węgiel
Costumes: Tomasz Armada
Costume designer’s assistant: Filip Holak
Music: Julek Ploski
Consultations: Łukasz Kozak
Original cast: Alicja Augustynek, Maksymilian Bańdo, Mateusz Bossy, Momoko Den, Julia Hnatów, Mateusz Krzysiak, Ewa Krzywicka, Luke Lamkin, Katarzyna Niżnik
Choreographer’s assistants: Ewelina Cieśla, Julia Hnatów
Lighting design: Michał Stenzel
Sound technician: Zuzanna Majewska
Multimedia technician: Michał Beszczyński
Producer: Monika Zembrzycka

Commissioned and produced by Polish Dance Theatre