MAHAGONNY. EIN SONGSPIEL / AFTERPARTY

Costumes for a musical, 2024

Costumes for a production directed by Krystian Lady, staged at STUDIO teatrgaleria in Warsaw. The production juxtaposes “Mahagonny. Ein Songspiel” by Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, and Elisabeth Hauptmann with the contemporary “Afterparty” by Kasia Głowicka and Bartosz “Fisz” Waglewski. The fictional Mahagonny of the 1930s is juxtaposed with today’s Warsaw—a city of ambition, consumerist promises, loneliness, and the relentless pursuit of success.

I designed costumes for characters representing various figures of big-city life: an influencer, a businessman, a politician, an immigrant, a divorcee, a young man, and a dreamer. The designs employ a camp aesthetic, emphasizing social roles and images constructed for the needs of the metropolis. The costumes were adapted for the demanding choreography performed while singing and moving intensely on mechanical treadmills.

The materials used in the costumes were hand-dyed with natural dyes by Filip Holak. The dyeing process produced uneven colors and traces of handiwork, contrasting with the synthetic, perfection-driven world of the performance. The premiere and accompanying events were part of a project co-financed by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU program under the National Recovery Plan.

Direction and Set Design: Krystian Lada
Costumes: Tomasz Armada
Costume Designer’s Assistant and Natural Fabric Dyeing: Filip Holak
Assistant Set Designer: Łukasz Misztal
Music: Kurt Weill, Kasia Głowicka
Texts: Bertolt Brecht, Elisabeth Hauptmann, Bartosz “Fisz” Waglewski
Musical Direction: Lilianna Krych
Choreography: Wojciech Grudziński
Lighting Design: Aleksandr Prowaliński
Premiere: December 8, 2024, Józef Szajna Main Stage, STUDIO teatrgaleria in Warsaw.