{"id":563549,"date":"2026-07-29T13:55:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=563549"},"modified":"2026-07-29T14:48:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T11:48:43","slug":"belarusian-director-stages-social-horror-production-in-sopot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/belarusian-director-stages-social-horror-production-in-sopot","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian Director Stages Social Horror Production in Sopot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On 9 and 10 August, Teatr BOTO in Sopot will host the premiere of “LITHOPEDION II.” Created in the aesthetic of social horror, the production is the latest project by Belarusian director Zhenia Davidzenka<\/b><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Zhenia Davidzenka is a graduate of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts who is now working actively and successfully in Poland. Her productions and performative readings are distinguished by their social context and reflections on the experience of exile, systemic violence and human identity. Among her notable works are “Ten Hours Straight Home,” a production about the experience of political exile staged at the Gda\u0144sk Shakespeare Theatre, and the requiem “The Executed,” created for the Night of the Executed Poets.<\/p>\n

The starting point for the new production is the real and painful medical phenomenon of lithopedion, or a “stone baby,” in which a deceased foetus remains inside the body for years. In this interpretation, the phenomenon becomes a metaphor for experiences frozen by systems, bureaucratic procedures and social mechanisms of exclusion.<\/p>\n

According to the creators, the stories of the female protagonists intertwine into a narrative about people living on the margins of visibility, suspended between life and survival, and between institutional care and systemic violence. The production addresses the pressing issues of statelessness, emotional and physical exhaustion, and the right to basic safety.<\/p>\n

An international team worked on creating the production’s atmosphere and visual identity.<\/p>\n

The script was written by acclaimed Polish playwright Marta Soko\u0142owska<\/b><\/strong>, the recipient of prestigious literary awards and the author of works focusing on marginalised groups and social issues.<\/p>\n

The music and sound design were created by Patrycja Wysoki\u0144ska<\/b><\/strong>. The visual concept, including the set and costumes, was designed by Belarusian artist Alena Hrybianchuk<\/b><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Choreographer Patryk Gacki<\/b><\/strong> was responsible for movement, while Jacky Reed<\/b><\/strong> and Aleksandra Katarska<\/b><\/strong> created the video effects and poster.<\/p>\n

The production stars Marta Herman<\/b><\/strong>, Urszula Kobiela<\/b><\/strong> and Morena Nachuja-Urba\u0144ska<\/b><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The production was created as part of the OFF Polska Programme with the support of the Gda\u0144sk Centre for Contemporary Art and the Goyki 3 Art Incubator, in co-production with Teatr BOTO.<\/p>\n

Time and venue: 9 and 10 August at 6:00 p.m., Teatr BOTO, Sopot.<\/p>\n

Tickets are available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 9 and 10 August, Teatr BOTO in Sopot will host the premiere of “LITHOPEDION II.” Created in the aesthetic of social horror, the production is the latest project by Belarusian director Zhenia Davidzenka. Zhenia Davidzenka is a graduate of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts who is now working actively and successfully in Poland. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":563548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6a69e89e93402.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"Belarusian Director Stages Social Horror Production in Sopot"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142375,142338],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-563549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-news"],"wps_subtitle":"","permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/563548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=563549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=563549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}