#dead class

Filmed for a documentary in 1977 by Andrzej Wajda

Umarla klasa (1977,Andrzej Wajda)

"One of the most famous theater masterpieces of the 20th century in which Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990) talks about dying that starts in your childhood. He makes use of mannequin-corpses on stage. Those figures would become a symbol of his Theater of the Dead. Kantor started to think about staging the performance in the summer 1972, in Bielkowo near Osieki, after he glimpsed through the window into an empty classroom with rows of school benches. Kantor then realized the power of memory.  Even over emptiness and death. He imagined the pupils, now long dead.  The performance featured dotards sitting on the benches, resembling mannequins or the dead. They were meant to symbolize victims of 20th century wars, including Holocaust victims. They walked round the benches to the rhythm of a Francoise waltz, dragging mannequins that represented their younger selves. The performance was staged almost two and a half thousand times worldwide.  It was recorded live three times. Andrzej Wajda filmed it as early as 1976, starring all the actors from the original casts with a few exceptions. The movie was shot mainly in Krzysztofory cellars, where the Dead Class first opened, and on other locations in Cracow." (source: http://ninateka.pl/kolekcja-teatralna...) Tadeusz Kantor: "The seaside. A small village. One street. Small, poor one-story houses. And one, possibly the poorest of them all: a school building. It was summer. The school was empty and deserted. There was only one classroom in it. It was possible to peek into it through dirty, dust covered windows placed very low. They gave the impression that the school had sunk into the ground. My face was glued to the window. For a long time, I peeked into the dark interior of my muddled memory."

Wielopole Skrzynskie, Poland / scenography to play "Umarla Klasa" by Tadeusz Kantor

Here's the accompanying video if you prefer:

Tadeusz Kantor The Dead Class (1975)