Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Tuesday 11 May
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
This evening of poetry and performance in Polish and English celebrates Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska.
Curated by Ellen Koshland and in partnership with the Australian Poetry Centre, this evening pays tribute to this remarkable poet.
In Poland, Szymborska is a beloved and respected figure with her poems widely read and memorised. Since winning the Nobel Prize in 1996, her international reputation has grown. This night of dramatic performance with some of Melbourne’s most respected actors, performers and writers continues to spread her dazzling words.
Featuring
Jacek Koman
Polish-born actor Jacek Koman has appeared in features such as Children of Men, Defiance, Australia, Romulus, My Father but is best known for his rendition of Roxanne as a narcoleptic Argentinian in Moulin Rouge.
Jacek has also had a distinguished theatre career, enjoying roles with Australia’s premier companies including Anthill, MTC, Sydney Theatre Company (STC) and Company B with directors such as Neil Armfield, Benedict Andrews, Michael Kantor and Barry Kosky. For his role as Roy Cohen in MTC’s Angels in America, Jacek won a Green Room Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role as well as The Age Performing Arts Award for Best Dramatic Performance.
As well as acting, Jacek is lead singer of VulgarGrad, a Melbourne band which has brought their Russian criminal music to leading venues and festivals around Australia.
Robert Richter
Robert Richter, QC, specialises in Administrative Law, Criminal Law and Human Rights.
He is the former chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, former President of Victorian Council for Civil Liberties, former part-time Law Reform Commissioner for Victoria and former member of Bar Council.
Marta Kaczmarek
Actor, poet and performer Marta Kaczmarek awarded a Cavalier Cross by the Polish government for her efforts to spread Polish culture in Australia. She has appeared in Shine and Underbelly.
Marta Kaczmarek trained at the Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Krakow, Poland. Her debut as Natasha in Dostoyevsky’s War and Peace preceded roles such as Aglaya in Idiot and Viola in Twelfth Night, and more recently in film and television in Shine, Underbelly and The Circuit.
In 1982, with a young family, she arrived in Perth and worked as a dancer, waitress, real estate agent, actor, director, and lecturer at Edith Cowan University. Her book of poems, Ziemia Przybrana (Adopted Earth) was published in 2004.
Following her daughter, Marta has made Melbourne home, directing community projects in Glenroy and Albion as well as a production for the 2010 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
In 2004 Marta was awarded a Cavalier Cross by the Polish government for her longstanding efforts in the cultivation of Polish culture in Australia. She is currently developing a WWII commemorative project with the Polish community and completing a Diploma of Community Services.