Dziwaczne Odkrycia: Watching Wyspa (The Tempest), An Outdoor Musical Shakespeare Performance in Nowe Miasto, Warszawa

“Thought is free”― William Shakespeare, The Tempest (Wyspa).

You might have read recently that I am back studying Polish (for the second time). Having spent 3 months learning Polish in Gdańsk in 2016, I recently got back into it after long periods of depression. I was so grateful to be at Klub Dialogu in Warszawa’s swanky Nowy Swiat area. Not only is it a great place to learn English, but the owners make sure that the language school has a cool social element to it. It’s a place to make new friends. Studying in Gdańsk, I met Belarussians, Ukrainians and English fellow students. Here in Warszawa there is a much more eclectic mix, and I have met people from India, China, Libya, Lithuania, England, USA and Ukraine.

In April 2017, I attended their Ukrainian event, in June 2017 (above) I was at the birthday celebration for owners Piotr and Wioleta(below).

And then, at the start of July, I was invited to a “Shakespeare spectacle”! I was excited, as I hadn’t watched any kind of Shakespeare performance in years.

This was one with an extra twist – it would be outdoors, in the “Nowe Miasto” (New Town), it was with Polish actors and actresses, it was without words instead background music, it was free and I could meet new people!! It sounded perfect!

In total 11 people turned up on the evening and we walked together through Warszawa Old to the main square in the New Town.

This was a depiction of Wyspa (The Tempest), and was an Outdoor Musical Shakespeare Performance in Nowe Miasto, Warszawa. As the lights fell on Warszawa city, we feasted our eyes on this act of drama. If you have read The Tempest (Wyspa), you will know the plot is related to a storm on a boat, based in Italy and it is a romantic comedy.

As we arrived, the performance had just got underway, we stood for most of it and looked over onto the custom made stage in Warszawa’s off-beat Nowe Miasto square. If you are unaware of The Tempest, of course Wikipedia as ever is on hand – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest

The photo above was taken by my school, Klub Dialogu. I took some photos and videos of my own, the performance was full of light, vitality, colour and the depiction was clear.

Unlike Shakespeare’s plays though, this was shorter and less emphatic (as a wordsmith and professional travel writer, I did miss the lines!). The boat came and went. The storm flew its wings past an inspired Warszawa crowd. Stilted walkers pride their way through a calm, enthusiastic group of locals and tourists. A mysterious wind accompanies some actresses and actors as they pump out a true rendition of Shakespearean acts of love, hurt, shame, pride, stormy weather and heartbreak.

The photos don’t “do it justice” as they never do. Only being there will suffice. But I hope you like them.

I picked up a programme of events, another match programme like the one I got when watching Orchestra in Wierzbno.

I had dressed up well for the occasion too, styled hair, clean shoes, good clothes, handsome man as always, looking down on the liars who tried to ruin my story.

When the Spectacle was over, we decided to go for a drink together and speak in a mixture of Polish and English. I was sitting with Dorota and Lauren (from England) at a bar called Feta na Freta, which is just opposite the main square in the Nowe Miasto.

On the evening, I met up with friends from the language school and was also delighted to be introduced to Greta, Lauren and Mohammed. Three new people to meet here in my new life in Warszawa.

Thanks again to Pani Dorota and all at Klub Dialogu for organising this evening, I hope to come to another event very soon.

Here are some videos I took of the evening: