Feminist Shakespeare and saturation of experience in Monika Pęcikiewicz’s intermedial adaptations

Abstract

Monika Pęcikiewicz belongs to a handful of Polish theatre directors who identify themselves as feminists. It is a very important stance as feminism in Poland is considered a left-leaning proclivity, shunned for fear of being considered post-communist, antisocial or anti-Catholic. For Pęcikiewicz, Shakespeare’s texts alone are not enough to realize her artistic vision. She has shifted her attention to the use of new digital technologies, to undermine the narrative, linear quality of Shakespeare’s stories. Ultimately Pęcikiewicz is intent on producing different levels of experience for her spectators with a focus on female experience in particular.