To be or not to be for the body. In cultural and social contexts we use concepts and – however – judgments.

A dirty body or a clean one? Untainted or remaining what it is in its essence? Are there universal criteria to resolve dilemmas? For the creators, what matters is physicality, guts, digestion and excretion, blemishes, eczema and spots; a laboratory where physiology meets philosophy.

Hertz Haus, in the play "To Bitch or Not to Bitch", takes as its starting point Shakespeare's poem "The Rape of Lucretia", but without reaching for direct representations of violence. Instead, it focuses on the traces that rape leaves on the female body and female psyche, and on the care of the wronged body. It is also a story about the border separating clean from dirty, and what can be shown in the theater from what should not be shown.

The play won the SzekspirOFF competition during the 28th edition of the Shakespeare Festival in Gdańsk. The award was given for an innovative approach to Shakespeare's work at the level of content (choice of the poem "The Rape of Lucretia") and form of performance. The verdict emphasized the original approach to the subject of rape, without reaching for direct representations of violence, focusing on the traces that rape leaves on the female body and female psyche, and on caring for the wronged body.

15 minutes after the end of the performance, a meeting of the audience with the artists will take place in the suspended hall. The meeting will be led by Dr. Katarzyna Kręglewska-Powązka (theatre and literature scholar, assistant professor at the Department of Drama, Theatre and Performances at the University of Gdańsk).

Direction, choreography, costumes and performance: Hertz Haus (Magdalena Kowala, Natalia Murawska, Joanna Woźna, Anka Zglenicka)
Music: Wojciech Wilk
Lighting direction: Hertz Haus & Filip Ejsmont
Dramaturgical consultations: Patrycja Kowańska
Produced as part of the ShakespeareOFF 2024 competition.

Duration: 60 min
Age: 18+
The show contains nudity.

The show is realized as part of the Hertz Haus REP project.
Co-financed by the city of Gdańsk.

Gdański Teatr Szekspirowski
Wojciecha Bogusławskiego 1, 80-818 Gdańsk