The Temptation of Quiet Veronica

Biography

The Temptation of Quiet Veronica was created in 1997 as a second part of a diptych entitled The Lady and the Unicorn at Polski Theatre in Wrocław. Krystian Lupa explored in it the mystery of femininity. Basing on Robert Musil’s short story Lupa built a study on myths rooted in culture and clichés of love and women condition passed on from generation to generation. The title character, Veronica, is a young girl restricted by cultural standards and at the same time wary of nature. She discovers love to a man but senses that it would never reach physical satisfaction. Suppressed feelings burst out again in collision with a lustful and impassive seducer. Rich in meanings, very erotic, almost somnambulistic performance with great acting by Ewa Skibińska as Veronica and Krzesisława Dubielówna as Auntie and disturbing music by Jacek Ostaszewski.

In 1999 the performance was adapted by Polish TV Theatre. In 2009 it was revived at Polski Theatre in Wrocław specially for the International Theatre Festival ‘The World as a Place of Truth’.

Polski Theatre, Wrocław
Adaptation, additional texts, set design and directed by ― Krystian Lupa
Cast ― Krzesisława Dubielówna, Mariusz Kiljan, Ewa Skibińska, Adam Szczyszczaj
Translation ― Zofia Rybicka
Music ― Jacek Ostaszewski
Set designer’s assistant ― Piotr Skiba
Manager ― Hanna Frankowska
Premiere ― 17 May 1997, renewal — 29 June 2009

Krystian Lupa does not sink knives into loaves of bread, pour wine into glasses or confound languages. And yet, or perhaps because of it, his theatre is profoundly anthropological. The Temptation of Quiet Veronica is an exploration of the woman – the sexuality, the fear of old age and death, the tendency to think in terms of images and dreams. […] Lupa abandons chronology in an attempt to evoke dreamtime just as the sets provide a vivid reminder of the past.

Alicja Szumańska ǀ Dziennik Teatralny Wrocław
The text is not the most important thing about this production. Lupa conquers his audience with emotion – the screaming, the touching, the mad running, the snuggly blankets and the full nudity. Jacek Ostaszewski’s music further underscores this quality of indecision, the production’s intentional dithering and wavering.

Katarzyna Pawlicka ǀ Dziennik Teatralny Kraków
The rhythm of the production revolves around Veronica. It is framed by her anxiety, her emotional struggles, her attempts to break free and face the world. […] This leaves us unsure whether we are looking at Veronica in her actual surroundings, or are perhaps delving into her private introverted illusions.

Jakub Papuczys and Hubert Michalak ǀ New Critics’ Force