Do what you want
Producer: Theatre21/ Centre for Inclusive Arts Warsaw, Poland
The performance Do What You Want is Filip Pawlak’s attempt, based on his own history, to find an explanation of what alternative motorics is – a concept popularised by the choreographer Rafał Urbacki and still in circulation today.
In his search, the artist delves into the archives of experience: subjective memory, documentary materials, interviews with other artists and theoretical texts in an attempt to find a common story in them. It is also a confrontation with his own return to the stage after 7 years of working in a theatrical backroom. Filip/Perfomer asks the question – to whom does the memory of the performer’s body belong? And how does it change?
“Working with the now deceased Rafal Urbacki was groundbreaking not only for me, but also for many other artists with disabilities. We called ourselves Alternative Motorics to avoid social stigmatization of disability, to trigger new associations. However, after Rafal’s death, his performers disappeared, the art scene forgot about the disabled again. What remained was the term Alternative Motorics used, however, not by Rafal’s former collaborators, but by the non-disabled majority. What happened? Why have we lost influence over our own creativity? Can we reclaim our own place in the performing arts and the memory of us? This is what I want to explore in this work.” – Filip Pawlak.
Premiere: 9.12.2023, Warsaw
- Concept, performance, text Filip Pawlak
- Set design, costumes Saskia Hellmann
- Music by Marcel Pieczonka (marcelims)
- Lighting design: Sebastian Klim
- Production: Paulina Uryszek
- Director’s consultation: Justyna Wielgus
Excerpt from the recording of ‘Protected Species’ courtesy of Anu Czerwiński, Katarzyna Szarawara, Karolina Matyjasek and Tatiana Cholewa.
The performance lasts 55 minutes.
TW: Performance includes loud sounds and audience interaction
