Europa

Wajdi Mouawad, Krzysztof Warlikowski

Premiere: 07.01.2026 Main Hall Adults only Play duration: 2 hours 15 minutes

Premiere: 07.01.2026 Main Hall Adults only Play duration: 2 hours 15 minutes

Silence—crimes left unspoken.Trauma’s legacy resurfaces across generations.

Wars, genocide, and the massacre of civilians proceed without pause. The world falls silent at the sight of yet another, ever more brazen crime—then forgets. Life goes on; impunity prevails, inviting further killers to act.

In his theatre, Krzysztof Warlikowski probes responsibility and guilt, tracing modern conflicts back to Greek tragedy. Taking up a text by one of his emblematic authors—the European Prize for Dramaturgy laureate Wajdi Mouawad, Europa’s Pledge—he widens his field of inquiry to territories shaped by inherited trauma. Here the darkness seizes us all: without exception, we are entangled in traumatic events, whether on the side of victims or of perpetrators. Even if we took no direct part in those dramas, guilt descends on us like a curse; it leaves its mark.

Every contemporary massacre is woven into a primordial order of killing that reaches back to mythic time. It summons the violent myths of the gods—divine acts of rape bound to desire for the human body—that underwrite those narratives.

Now imagine old Europe—at times awash in blood, at times observing from a distance the abattoirs unfolding across the world. Can you really feel innocent? And remember: you are accountable for what you feel.

Cast

Guest cast

  • Claude Bardouil
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Information

based on Europa's Pledge (Le Serment d'Europe) by Wajdi Mouawad
Adaptation: Krzysztof Warlikowski, Piotr Gruszczyński
Translation: Jacek Poniedziałek
Director: Krzysztof Warlikowski
Set design and costumes: Małgorzata Szczęśniak
Lighting designer: Felice Ross
Dramaturgy: Piotr Gruszczyński, Anna Lewandowska, Carolin Losch
Music: Paweł Mykietyn
Choreography: Claude Bardouil
Video: Kamil Polak
Make-up: Monika Kaleta
Cast: Claude Bardouil, Andrzej Chyra, Magdalena Cielecka, Bartosz Gelner, Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik, Maja Ostaszewska, Magdalena Popławska


Stage manager: Łukasz Jóźków
Assistant director: Jeremi Pedowicz
Collaboration to set design: Saskia Hellmann
Technical coordination of the set construction: Paweł Kamionka
Collaboration to costumes: Ewa Gronowska
Assistant to costumes: Olga Przylipiak
Assistant to lighting design: Helena Rakovich
Masks: Dominik Dlouhy
Translation to English: Artur Zapałowski
Subtitles: Zofia Szymanowska 


In the music recordings participated:
Maria Sławek – violin
Jakub Haufa – violin 
Tomasz Rosiński – viola
Katarzyna Drzewiecka-Szlachcikowska – cello
Michał Sobuś – double bass 
Paweł Mykietyn – flutes, drums, keyboards
Recording: Jarosław Regulski, Studio Buffo
and ► Nowy Teatr’s team

Production: Nowy Teatr
Co-production:Théâtre de Liège
Premiere: January 7, 2026


Graphic design of the poster: Grzegorz Laszuk
 
In the visual identification of the performance, a modified photograph of a sculpture located in the port of Agios Nikolaos in Crete was used. The sculpture was designed by the Cretan film director Nikos Koundouros, and created by the sculptors Nikos and Pantelis Sotiriades (2012). The photograph was used under the terms of the CC0 1.0 license (Creative Commons Zero – Public Domain Dedication).

 

 

Tournee

    • September 18-19, 2026 Festiwal Wybrzeże Sztuki, Gdansk
    • August 10-13, 2026 Salzburg Festival (Austria)
    • August 28-31, 2026 Ruhrtriennale, Bochum (Germany)
    • June 13-14, 2026 Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre (Georgia)
    • May 29–30, 2026 Printemps des Comédiens, Montpellier (France)
    • May 8-9, 2026 32. International Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant, Łódź (Poland)

See also

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