L'enfant et les sortileges and Der Zwerg in Munich

L'enfant et les sortilèges / Der Zwerg - Nationaltheater Munich, 13 November 2011

Like his compatriot Krzysztof Warlikowski, Grzegorz Jarzyna is a mainstay of Polish theatre, but on this showing their styles are very different. Faced with quintessential kiddies' opera L'enfant et les sortilèges, I dread to think what Warlikowski would do. It would be adventurous, it would be different, but they'd probably have to slap a warning on it.

Jarzyna takes a more populist approach. Here, he's opted for strict literalism, as if he's illustrating a story book.  The Teapot is a man with a teapot on his head, the Fire is a lady in orange tinsel, the animals look like animals. Even a five year old could follow it, which is probably the point - there were quite a few in the audience.