ZAMEK Culture Centre

The roar of machines in the textile factories of Łódź, the fatigued bodies of the people—women in the main—who operated them, the unimaginable physical effort, performed laboriously day after day. This was part and parcel of the industrial history of Łódź, whose character and identity have been shaped by that textile manufacturing for 150 years.

The new era is a time of knowledge-based industry. Łódź has undergone a transformation over the recent decades: many factories have closed down, while those that remain have altered their technological processes. Even so, the creators of Defect Testers revisit the tradition of hard, physical toil, return to bodies exploited in textile factories. At the same time, they seek connection with a seemingly completely different domain, namely dance.

This is how the authors describe their show: “When working on the performance, we juxtaposed the dancers’ physical abilities with the history of the textile workers in Łódź. Together, we reflected on the similarities between work in such different fields. The eponymous defect testers are technical control workers in a production plant who assess the quality of finished products, looking for flaws. The recollections of the defect testers from Łódź’s textile factories paint a picture of physically demanding work. They would process tonnes of material, meticulously checking every centimetre of fabric to find and eliminate flaws (defects). So we asked ourselves: what would a defect be in dance? Can a non-normative body be part of the creative industry? Are artists with disabilities a ‘flaw’ or a new quality? We come forward with a new perspective. Our attention focuses on where fatigued material gets worn down, stretches in unexpected ways, takes on unpredictable shapes, only to yield something unique. Ultimately, whether in industry or dance, work creates a community. Individualities become blurred, even though they are the mainstay of this never-ending process. And, whenever work ends, there is time to rest and dance together to the sound of a mandolin orchestra.”

Defect Testers is a visually beautiful performance with live music. The concept behind it has much in common with the themes we try to focus on in Zamek’s theatre programme. Non-normativity on stage as a new quality—on equal terms.

Still, there are more shared elements. After all, Poznań has its own story of those who worked in the now defunct textile industry. The Modena Clothing Industry Plant in Poznań—once known to everyone—was one of the major facilities in the capital of Greater Poland, while its products sold nationwide. Modena is now history, but heavily tinged with nostalgia.

The dramaturge, Filip Pawlak, puts it as follows: “At dawn, a group of women walk the noisy city streets on their way to the factory. Despite the robust stride, their movements already show signs of weariness; they have made it to Friday. Another working day is about to begin, just as it did thousand times before: at the entrance, they change into their work clothes, tie up their loose hair, exchange a few words of greeting and enter the hall. Later, one of them will run a warm-up. Their cold bodies will slowly begin to slide into the familiar rhythm: their bones and muscles start moving, their skin tenses up, their joints crack, awakened from slumber. Another eight hours of hard work ahead to hone the choreography. Being a dancer is a lot of work.”

Direction: Jacek Owczarek
Assistant director: Kacper Klimczak
Choreography: Krzysztof Skolimowski
Dramaturgy: Filip Pawlak
Dance: Adrianna Mrowiec, Justyna Olczak-Lipman, Milena Starzec, Ulyana Zaruba

Music: Patryk Zakrocki
Costumes: Anna Adamiak
Set design: Radosław Pacholczyk
Production: Magdalena Gonera

Sign language interpretation: Karina Akseńczuk

The performance presented at ZAMEK Culture Centre in Poznań as part of the "Polish Crip Perfo" project, co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Cultural Promotion Fund – a state-funded special-purpose fund.

The event is partnered by the Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa in Łódź, the originator and producer of the performance "Brakarki." The performance was created at the Museum as part of a project co-financed by the "Kultura Wrażliwa" program of the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (Państwowego Funduszu Rehabilitacji Osób Niepełnosprawnych).

______________________