Ewa – The Last Lesson: Exploring the Living Legacy of Jerzy Grotowski
Kyber Teatro and L’Aquilone di Viviana have presented a specialized evening dedicated to the living memory of theatre. The event features a scenic reading performed by Elisa Pistis and the preview screening of the documentary film Ewa – The Last Lesson.
Exploring the Legacy of Jerzy Grotowski
The evening opens with “Teatro e Nuove Tecnologie: L’eredità viva di Jerzy Grotowski,” a production by Kyber Teatro. Directed and written by Ilaria Nina Zedda, the performance utilizes video mapping by Marco Quondamatteo and sound by Elvio Corona.
Through the use of memories, signs, and readings, the production guides the audience into the pedagogical and poetic universe of Jerzy Grotowski. Central to this experience is “The Words of the Performer,” a foundational text of 20th-century theatre.
This reading serves as an entry point into the life of Ewa Benesz. A Polish national and direct student of Grotowski at the Teatr Laboratorium in Wrocław, Benesz is one of the final witnesses to a theatrical practice rooted in interior research and oral transmission.
The Vanishing Art of Paratheatre
The event highlights the history of paratheatre, an experiential research form that emerged in the 1970s within Grotowski’s Teatro Laboratorium in Poland. This specific theatrical knowledge is now progressively disappearing.
The documentary Ewa – The Last Lesson, directed by Andrea Mura and Federico Savonitto, further examines this legacy. The 67-minute film, produced by Ginko Film in association with La Bandita and Takaita Film, was selected for both the Trento Film Festival 2025 and the Biografilm Festival 2025.
A Journey of Return and Reflection
The film documents Ewa Benesz’s decision to leave Italy and return to Lublin, the city she fled during the martial law period of the 1980s. This return follows over six decades of research involving Peter Brook and various laboratories in Sardinia and Italy.
Using rare archival materials and footage from Benesz’s home at the foot of Monte Porceddus in Sardinia, the film asks what remains of a life dedicated to theatre. Director Andrea Mura is scheduled to be present for a post-screening debate.
Future Implications and Festivals
This event is part of L’Aquilone di Viviana’s “Eredi della Scena” project, which fosters dialogue between audiences and great theatrical masters. The project is supported by the Fondazione di Sardegna and the Regione Sardegna.
As a preview for the ARTERITÀ Festival 2026, the success of this presentation could lead to further explorations of theatrical memory. It’s likely that the dialogue between the reading and the documentary may serve as a model for future transmissions of oral artistic heritage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ewa Benesz?
Ewa Benesz is a Polish theatre practitioner and a direct student of Jerzy Grotowski at the Teatr Laboratorium in Wrocław. She is one of the final witnesses of paratheatre, a discipline based on interior research and oral transmission.
What is the focus of the documentary “Ewa – The Last Lesson”?
The film follows Ewa Benesz’s return to Lublin after over sixty years of theatrical research in Poland, Italy, and Sardinia. It explores the nature of knowledge transmission and the legacy of a life dedicated to the performing arts.
What is “paratheatre”?
Paratheatre is a form of experiential research that originated around the 1970s within the activities of the Teatro Laboratorium founded by Jerzy Grotowski in Poland.
How do you believe the use of modern technology, such as video mapping, can help preserve ancient oral traditions in the arts?