" This is a story about a certain world ending and the start of a new one. The world is taking on new shapes as the previous one is being eaten by a plague.” – says the director of the play, Małgorzata Bogajewska. The play first staged on Broadway three decades ago has an undeniable ability to blend in with the new reality. And maybe despite 30 years, is the world still standing still? A couple of days before the premiere we are having a look at the play rehearsals and talk to the actors. What are "Angels..." like to them?

Bold and disturbing, harassed by contemporary demons.

A year and a half ago, Chris Parkes in the Guardian emphasized that "Angels in America" mean more today than ever before. Art is an important voice around the world in the fight for LGBT community rights. It shows the soullessness of political systems, which in turn leads to disease or death. The greatest value of Tony Kushner's text is somewhere else. "Angels ..." grab us by the neck and force us to think about pain and joy resulting from interaction with other people. However, every concept in the theatre is dead, until the actors give their souls to it. We do not have to worry about that, though! "Angels in America" is a graduation play of our Acting Dept. students and will be performed by: Izabella Dudziak, Izabela Gąska, Ksenia Tchórzko, Elżbieta Zajko, Paweł Głowaty, Mateusz Grodecki, Robert Ratuszny, Kamil Rodek and Sebastian Śmigielski. "I see the enthusiasm and diligence of these young people. It is the moment when they are willing to cross lines. This text can be very close to them. Considering the age of the characters - it could directly refer to them, and looking in a wider perspective - it is for the students the moment of graduating from school, and thus entering a new world and cutting off from the place that gave them a sense of identity. Just like the characters they play they will have to re-declare who they are at all levels – says the director, Małgorzata Bogajewska

"We did not set ourselves the goal to catch up with Meryl Streep or Al Pacino".

The actors admit that "Angels in America" requires a lot of emotional involvement. The multidimensional character of the protagonists causes that work on each of the roles requires completely different ways of research, adopting an individual way of building the character. There is no place for imitation or an attempt to pretend. In between the rehearsals some of the students spoke to us about their work and the characters they play, namely: Kamil Rodek ( playing Joe Pitt), Paweł Głowaty (Roy Cohn), Sebastian Śmigielski (Mr Bajer, Prior Walter nr 2, Man in the park), Ela Zajko (Harper Pitt) and Izabella Dudziak (Norman Belize Arriaga).

Kamil Rodek, who plays Joe Pitt

"Angels ..." is a text that requires a lot of emotional involvement. My character (Joe Pitt) goes from one crisis to another, from one breakdown to another. There is a whole amplitude of emotions in him. It is fascinating and at the same time difficult for an actor-beginner. "Angels in America" are about searching for identity, one’s own place. For us, who finish school and start something new, this is a particularly close state. It is also a text about the necessity of answering the question "who am I" in the context of the approaching end - whatever this end is: death, illness, not accepting oneself or just the end of the world.

Paweł Głowaty - Roy Cohn

Roy Markus Cohn is a historical figure, so giving him the truth is a challenge. I watched the interviews he gave in the years of his activity and from these observations I took characteristic gestures for him, eg rubbing fingers. In addition, it is a controversial figure in many aspects being focused on the pursuit of victory, having no inhibitions and not apologizing. I think everyone, even for a moment, would like to be someone like that. Roy Cohn's authority lasted 30 years and it still lasts thanks to his pupils. He was an advisor to Nixon, Regan, Bush senior, he knew young Bush, he was also a mentor to Donald Trump. We realize that viewers will compare our performance with the cult HBO series so we decided not to pretend that it does not exist. We did not set ourselves the goal of catching up with Meryl Streep or Al Pacino. We would not have managed anyway considering their age and experience. There is no way we could try to keep up with them in any way. We're just doing our job.

Sebastian Śmigielski – Mr Bajer, Prior Walter nr 2, The Man in the park
I play a whole collage of characters. Some are closer to me than others. I also discover myself thanks to these characters. I really like Mr. Bajer's carelessness and nonchalance.

Ela Zajko - Harper Pitt

Harper Pitt is a fascinating and multidimensional character. Despite the illness and failed relationship she tries to ask questions about the truth. She is courageous. She is intelligent and also has a big heart. Getting to know the difficult truth she does not blame or resent anyone. The truth sets her free. While working on the character, I analyzed various mechanisms that give rise to thoughts, visions and Harper’s hallucinations. I was thinking about what was her home like, what effect being a Mormon had on her. This character shows that nothing is obvious, that the painful truth is better than a comfortable lie and that love has to be learned.

Izabella Dudziak – Norman Belize Arriaga

Belize Arriaga is a drag queen. While working on the character I started from extensive research on the Internet. I also went to the famous "Ball at Bożena’s" in Warsaw where all drag queens from Poland go. I learned a lot about my femininity, how to flaunt it. I was especially helped by the drag queen named Your Old Woman, who has a moustache and is bald, so is not a typical drag queen. She is undefined and I would like Belize to be like that - just a human being, no matter what gender. It is hard for Polish drag queens. I know that they are facing big social intolerance. If, through art, we open people’s eyes a little, make room for some doubts, it was worth it. One day, I would like to play Hamlet, who is just a human being, no matter whether a man or a woman.

The premiere of „Angels in America” - 23 & 24 February.

photos: Filip Szkopiński