Re-Identyfikacja

On Sunday night at 7pm the Polish theatre group GAPPAD, are performing their piece entitled Re-Identyfikacja at the Pierce Institute on Govan Road. [diagonally across the road from the underground station - See our Govan Map].

RE-ID (Re-Identyfikacja) is a bi-lingual (English/Polish) exploration of the effects of emigration on identity, using bold physicality and live music. Reconstucting struggles of Poles in Scotland, they ask the unavoidable question: Do we return or re-identify? Following the success of 'RE-ID's premiere at the Tron Theatre Glasgow, where they played to sold out audiences, and a highly successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe, GAPPAD are thrilled to return to Glasgow for the Govan International Festival.

Tickets are £5/£3 and are available from the Pierce Institute 01414190329
*Image from GAPPAD website


EDIT REVIEW

Well, we went along to see the show on Sunday night. Was a bit strange when we arrived in Govan as the place was completly empty. Never really been there at night before and it was strange to see the streets so quiet.

The Pearce Institute however was bustling, with a good sized crowd turned out given a try of Polish chocolates, wine and beer before the show. It was the first time I'd been to the Pearce Institute, though Ann goes all the time for her lunch. I therefore did my usual and went for a wander to see what I could see. Looks an interesting place, and I'll maybe go back next year for the doors open day.

From overhearing conversations in the theatre before the play began, I'd guess the majority of the audience were Polish and I think therefore they probably got more out of the show which was half in Polish and half in English.

This was delibertly done, to create a bit of distance and confusion among the non-polish speaking audience and give you more empathy with the alienating situation than many non-fluent english speaking migrants find themselves in, but I did find myself sometimes struggling to understand people. As most of the dialogue was either shouted or whispered, I often couldn't decide if it was Polish or if it was English and that I was just having difficulty with the casts accents.

In saying the above, some of the finest moments of the play arose from skillful playing with and blending the two different languages. The best scene was an interview sequence where we could hear the interviewers questions in English, then spoken in Polish by a translator, inner thoughts expressed aside by the interviewe and then actual answers given in english and Polish. It felt very sharpe and fresh and was my highlight.

Overall we did enjoy the show, but felt that its short running time of 1 hour was long enough. The cast were all very good and we really enjoyed the music. I think in total I'll give it ***.