Encounter2017_MP04_EN

MAIN PROGRAMME
THE DEVIL INSIDE HIM
Lodz, Poland
Author:
Director:
Language:
Lenght:
Cast:
John Osborne
Mariusz Grzegorzek
Polish
120 min
Aleksandra Chapko, Aleksandra Przeslaw, Wojtek Lato, Maciej Musialowski,
Marianna Zydek, Tomasz Marczynski, Cezary Kolacz
THE DEVIL IS IN ALL OF US
This year the National Film Television and Theatre School from Łodź brought a play inspired
by John Osbourne’s The Devil inside Him, which is critical towards the church and
religion in general. It may be surprising that a Polish school has chosen such topic. However,
it reflects the current global situation perfectly, using the topic such as the danger of
religion, misuse of power for “the evil,” and the issue of human diversity in the society.
What makes the school from Łodź exceptional is the choice of actors. The actors are
strong personalities every time. What is more, they are visually interesting. I would
not be afraid to say that they are attractive, which may be caused by the fact that the
school focuses on film as well. There is however one problem associated with this.
A one-time visitor to the Festival may be oblivious to it. An experienced Encounter
visitor may notice that the students of this school often perform a high-wire act of
affectation. They do not manage to stay on the right side, mainly in cases of stylized
plays. In this case it happened to the actress who played the mother. On the whole,
though, it kind of fit into the convincing and good acting of the rest of the ensemble.
In order to create a dark atmosphere the students used simple and, for most of the
time, empty stage with candles, which gave the impression of a Holy place. The adhesive
tape was also very effective. It created kind of a bordered element which singled
out and put emphasis on Huw’s differences. Uniform black costumes complemented
the scene, having fit closely to the symmetrical bodies of the actors. The creased-looking
fabric deformed them at the same time.
Understandably, a projection with speeches of the actors was used. The speeches
were about the characters and worries. However they were not very convincing. Such
multimedia bits and pieces were disruptive, killed the atmosphere and thus became
completely unnecessary.
Overall the play is a precise depiction of today. It deals with problematic topics and
forces the viewer to reflect on the fact that the evil is in each of us.
Henrietta Ctiborová
12