6 April 2011 Tadeusz Słobodzianek’s Our Class in Canada

Our Class by Tadeusz Słobodzianek is one of the most famously discussed works in Polish literature of the last couple of years. It is a vital part of the discussion on co-responsibility for crime. The text –winner of, among other prizes, the NIKE Literary Award in 2010 – has already been the source of a couple of theatre adaptations. After the British and Polish premieres of Our Class, another performance based on the Polish author’s drama has been prepared in Canada. The new Canadian production is being staged by the Studio 180 Theatre in Toronto, in cooperation with Canadian Stage. The Polish premiere of Our Class, directed by Ondrej Spišak at the Warsaw Na Woli Theatre has already been seen by 10,000 people. The performance was presented at the Gdynia, Lublin and Łódź festivals and was one of the most important events of last year’s edition of the Conrad Festival. The hall of the Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts was unusually besieged by audiances on the day Słobodzianek’s drama was to be staged.

The author of the play’s English translation is Ryan Craig. The Canadian performance was directed by Joel Greenberg. In Toronto, spectators will have the opportunity to see the English version of the drama at the Studio 180 Theatre, where plays concerning crucial social issues, provoking discussions and promoting involvement in community’s life, are regularly staged.