There are shows you just watch. Then there are those that pull you in like an escalator at the mall—before you realize it, you’re on a completely different level.
That’s exactly how I felt when I sat in the audience of Buffo Theater to see “Polita.” With Jola, of course, since it was a birthday present from her. After just a few minutes, I had the impression that theater decided to pick a fight with cinema and prove it can do more.
A set design that impresses
The set design didn’t end on the stage boards. It expanded like yeast dough left unattended. It transported me from Warsaw to Berlin, from Berlin to Hollywood, and sometimes right into the middle of a cinematic dream.
The 3D effect kicked my imagination into gear like a strong cup of coffee at six in the morning. Images popped out of the screen so effortlessly, as if gravity had taken the day off. I kept catching myself instinctively wanting to step aside, even though I was sitting comfortably in my seat. My brain clearly decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
Natasza Urbańska and the changing scenery
Natasza Urbańska as Pola Negri moved across the stage with the lightness of a feather carried by a spring breeze. A moment later, the stage turned into a Hollywood movie studio. Right after that, it took me to a brightly lit Broadway.
The pace of the changes was like a TV remote in the hands of a kid. Before I could feast my eyes on one scene, the next one appeared, even more spectacular.
Music and choreography
The music flowed through the hall like a wide river. Sometimes it gently rocked you, other times it swept you away with the force of a mountain stream.
The choreographies were so precise they looked as if every dancer had a built-in navigation system accurate to the millimeter. Not a single false step. Even my thoughts tried to keep up with them, though they were quickly left behind.
A meeting of two worlds
The real hero of the evening, however, turned out to be the creators’ imagination. Combining live actors with digital set design was like a meeting of two worlds that theoretically shouldn’t fit together. In practice, they cooperated more harmoniously than an orchestra under the baton of an experienced conductor.
The boundary between screen and stage dissolved as effectively as a sugar cube in hot tea. I kept catching myself simply getting swept up in the story instead of analyzing the tech.
It was a bit like popping into a museum just for a minute. Two hours later, you realize closing time passed a long time ago.
The finale of the show
The finale of the show was like the last chapter of a good book. You don’t want it to end, but at the same time, you know it’s better to wrap up the story at the right moment than to drag it out forever.
I left Buffo Theater convinced that I had just watched a show that didn’t so much cross the boundaries of theater as treat them like a mere suggestion. “Polita” turned out to be a journey faster than an express train. It was more colorful than a box of crayons and so spectacular that even my memory will have to make some room for new recollections.
It was a night that proved theater can still surprise you. And it does so with such a bang that it’s as if the word “impossible” lost its meaning somewhere along the way.
