MOTHER

Costumes for the play, 2024

Costumes for Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz’s *Matka* (Mother), directed by Anna Augustynowicz and staged at the Ateneum Theater in Warsaw, starring the outstanding Agata Kulesza in the lead role. The play unfolds within the dreamscape of Leon Węgorzewski and focuses on his toxic, mutually destructive relationship with his mother, Janina. The production was created to mark the 100th anniversary of the play’s writing, during the Ateneum Theater’s 95th anniversary season.

I designed a monochromatic wardrobe in shades of black, gray, and white. The timeless costumes emphasize the grotesque nature of the characters and allow the actors to shift between several roles. The dark color palette is broken up by the young Mother’s white dress and red props. Dorota’s costume, evoking the image of a mourner or martyr, and the characters in bowler hats reinforce the ritualistic, funeral-like nature of the stage world.

The costumes were noted in reviews of the production. Alina Ert-Eberdt emphasized that the dark costumes, set design, projections, and lighting consistently create an otherworldly space. In her essay “The Big Boy’s Red Balloon,” Alicja Cembrowska identified the costumes as one of the elements that create the atmosphere of a nightmarish dream from which the characters cannot wake up.



Author: Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz
Director: Anna Augustynowicz
Costumes: Tomasz Armada
Set Design: Marek Braun
Music: Jacek Wierzchowski
Video Art and Lighting Design: Wojciech Kapela
Premiere: April 12, 2024, at the Stefan Jaracz Ateneum Theater in Warsaw.