About the school
The Ludwik Solski State Drama School in Krakow (PWST) was formed in 1946. Since 1st October 2017 the school has been named Akademia Sztuk Teatralnych im. St. Wyspianskiego in Krakow (AST). At present the School runs one season of master studies leading to a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Acting Department, the Drama Directing Department, the Puppetry Department and the Department of Dance Theater. AST is an academic public school and it has the authority to issuse the following academic degrees: Doctorate, Habilitation and Professor of Theatre Arts. Direct supervision of the school falls to The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Departments in Krakow: The Acting Department: specialisation in dramatic acting and vocal and acting specialisation The Drama Directing Department: specialisation in directing for theater and specialisation in dramaturgy.
Saint Joan
It is the year 1429. France has been drowned in the chaos of war with England for nearly century. Joan of Arc, a simple girl from the country who can hear the voices of saints speaking to her, becomes the country’s last hope for turning the tide of history.
She takes over command of the French army and leads it to a series of miraculous victories, recapturing Orleans and crowning Charles VII King of France all over the course of only a few months. In 1430, ather a long and difficult trial by inquisition, the Authorities and Church have Joan of Arc burnt at the stake for preaching heresy. A hundred years later, the same Catholic Church would canonise her as a saint.
Although Joan of Arc has inspired musicians, writers, and directors for quite a few centuries, George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan has been staged in a theatre for three decades. Students of the AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków have boldly revised the image of the saint made by Irish playwright, placing Joan in a world bordering on an apocalypse, or perhaps elicited from RPG games. Monika Strzepka, one of the most well-known and controversial figures in Polish theatre, again breaks into contemporary reality with powerful theatrical diagnosis. For the world of the first half of the 21st century stands on the verge of a political, ecological, and cultural catastrophe. The Notre Dame is on fire, as are the Siberian tundra and the rainforests of the Amazon. Joan, the girl who wanted to save her world, is burning as well.
A diploma performance by students of the fifth year of the Acting Department of the AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków.
Author: George Bernard Shaw
Translation: Michal Czyz, Florian Sobieniowski
Director: Monika Strzepka
Set design: Aret Slesinski
Costume design: Aret Slesinski
Music: Borys Kunkiewicz
Production: AST
Photo: Klaudyna Schubert
Cast:
Gabriela Bissinger
Kinga Bobkowska
Agnieszka Gawlinska
Melania Kowalczyk
Aleksandra Samelczak
Alan Al-Murtatha
Adam Borysowicz
Michal Czyz
Franciszek Karpinski
Marcin Piotrowiak
In Polish with English Subtitles.
