To meet Prospero

Script, music preparation and directed by Yaroslav Fedoryshyn,   Set and costumes  Alla Fedoryshyna (honoured artist of Ukraine) ,

Lighting Krzysztof Dubiel, Sound Mykola Kshanovskiy/ Serhyi Kondratovych.

A “Night  of the theatres”. Shakespeare in an innovative format. To meet Prospero  by Lviv Theatre Voskresinnia in  the Common Theatre in Radom. Who was not on Saturday night in the Jagiellonian square should regret. A  circus, ballet or theatre? – Viewers could have doubts. Lviv actors with a passion not only the role played by Shakespeare characters, but also danced, with extraordinary lightness marched on stilts and perform stunts on poles. During the whole performance was not mentioned a word, but the film language replaced successfully  the complicated scenery, strange recoiling machine, colorful costumes and actors. The biggest impression on audiences did special effects with fire, fireworks, colorful ribbons and and worrying  music. Radom had already known of Lviv artists. In April they went to with the performance of  “Job” by the drama of Karol Wojtyla, and on May, with “Gloria” open air show.

(…) Finally, the finale – Ukrainian Theatre Voskresinnia with a  street show “To Meet Prospero.” I confess frankly that I do not belong to this special kind of theatre enthusiasts. Too close for me from here to the street or simply juggling circus. All of these fires, smoke, fireworks, streamers, stilt walkers and jugglers. All this (and more yet) was the spectacle of the Lviv team, sometimes you can almost feel the excess. But persevering in this presentation without pain. What’s more – I appreciate the artistic beauty of its unquestionable and very good music and being able to establish the “Tempest,” “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Hamlet,” and so the works of Shakespeare, which were the inspiration for artists. And inviting this show was worth it for this reason that, for some of the audience may be an incentive to make the next step toward the theatre.
 Andrzej Z. Kowalczyk   Kurier Lubelski 2010-06-19

Shakespeare colours

The theatrical faces of Shakespeare’s plays opalesces with a multitude of shades, interpretations, all variations. Especially at the 5th Festival of Theatres of Central Europe “Neighbours”, which was under the patronage of the most famous English playwright. In the colourful ranks of the creators who presented performances inspired by Shakespeare – and the most colourful ones – the Lviv Theatre Voskresinnia with the spectacle “To Meet Prospero ” strutted proudly.
The abundance of colours, the richness of colours, costumes, sounds, props and everything that will cause a visual storm and attack the senses of the public turned out like an army and put up on the Lithuanian Square on the last day of the festival. Voskresinnia Theatre, putting aside the verbal layer of art, fully exploited stage means referring to our auditory, visual and – what is important – to our imagination. Just deciphering the appearing scenes in the spectacle and assigning them to the individual dramas of Shakespeare transferred the audience to the fairy-tale world of puzzles and fantasies. The information from the theatre announcements showing the search path – “Romeo and Juliet”, “Macbeth”, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Tempest” – turned out to be helpful here, based on which the performance of the Voskresinnia Theatre was created. And although not every stage could clearly indicate one or another Shakespearean theme (though the majority was quite unambiguous), and not every hero could easily be identified, maybe this was also the charm of “To meet Prospero”, wrapped in a touch of magic and understatement . The magic and performance of this street performance were fiercely fireworks, artificial and real fires, shots of colourful bands, colourful rain falling on the actors, large wooden reels with actors inside,

acrobatic movements of the bodies, dancing – also characters on stilts, lanterns, scattered smoke, movable, metal machines depicting warriors, rich costumes, as well as extremely romantic music, once restless, based sometimes on the trumpet, knockers, drums, at other times piano, cheerful and optimistic, illustrating the fun. The sound layer was also built by the whistling of actors, bitter crying, gentle ghouls, and thunderous laughter, complementing individual scenes. At the creation of costumes, the blaze of fire and fireworks was used – along with the explosions and illumination of the space, the materials sparkled and took on colours, shone and shimmered. This was especially true of stilt outfits, their shiny, ethereal, and flowing robes, but also presented tight, delicately shiny costumes, as well as those in which only a silver-plated or sequin strip sparkled. The costumes were characterized by a multitude of colours and materials, and the whole was complemented by masks, helmets, plumes and wigs. Wooden elements paid the most attention to the set designe diversity. Elements – what should be added – multifunctional and quite substantial sizes. Wooden wheels, carts and poles accompanied the actors constantly in the stage space, taking over new roles. Poles were becoming acrobatic props, at other times – oars, and tall, round ‘baskets’ of wooden railings could be both a shelter of the character and – overturned – by a boat. A permanent component of the set design was the structure placed in the background, adorned with airy material, covered with a turquoise glow for the greater part of the performance.
The performance of the Voskresinnia Theatre was the last performance presented at the 5th Festival of Central European Theatres “Neighbours” – a spectacle topping this year’s jubilee edition; a spectacle that is unusually expressive and impressive, long-lasting.
Anna Dobrecka, Teatralia Lublin June 25, 2010

The performance of ” To Meet Prospero” by the Lviv Theatre Voskresinnia was a masterpiece  of its own. This theatre, operating under the guidance of known experienced artist, Iaroslav  Fedoryshyn, has been building his own image of a “theatre seeking” for the past twenty five years, often using a surprising form of presenting views on the reality that surrounds us. “To Meet Prospero” is a colourful spectacle based on “Tempest”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet” and “The Summer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare

Dream” by William Shakespeare using virtually all available formal means to emphasize his vision of the need to meet the idea of ​​extraordinariness and goodness, based on the famous Shakespeare’s figure of the magic prince Prospero. Like his character, the performance was enchanted by the audience who warmly applauded both the performers and the thirtieth edition of the Jelenia Góra Festival.  Ryszard Klimczak Dziennik Teatralny, August 11, 2012

Fireworks, stilts, stunts at the Festival of Puppetry Art
On Saturday (24 May) viewers of the International Festival of Puppetry Art in Bielsko-Biała were able to take part in the spectacle “To Meet  Prospero”  of the Voskresinnia Theatre from Ukraine. Fireworks, explosions, stilts, stunts on fireplaces, fireworks and juggling made viewers delight in the evening . The performance is kept in the climate of the comedy dell ‘arte and is a story of a demiurge man who, using both earthly and heavenly power, moves back to conjure up extraordinary situations and extraordinary characters. Prospero – because of him – makes the whole world become a theatre, and viewers along with artists of this theatre move into the imagination of the genius author, William Shakespeare. MO Gazeta Wyborcza, Katowice, 25/05/2014

A magical fire on Chrobry Square
In spite of the afternoon storm on Saturday evening, the Ukrainian Voskresinnia Theatre came to Bielsko-Biała as part of the International Puppetry Art Festival. Four years ago, the artists of this theater presented a picturesque interpretation of Anton Chekhov’s “Cherry Orchard” . This time, the team from Lviv presented on the Chrobry square the outdoor show entitled “To Meet Prospero.” The play referred to several dramas by William Shakespeare – Tempest, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. The artists, referring to medieval fairs and circus art, discovered in the texts of the English playwright the strength of the elements: air, water and fire. The spectators gathered at Chrobry Square were impressed by sound and visual special effects such as explosions, fireworks, stunts on sticks, magic fires, juggling and stilts. Agnieszka Pollak-Olszowska bielsko.biała.pl 25/05/2014