— Golgota Picnic in Poland An account of the events May-July 2014 — 1 — Golgota Picnic in Poland An account of the events May-July 2014 editors: Paweł Płoski & Dorota Semenowicz translation: Arthur Barys, Michał Biela, Emilia Dłużewska, Waldemar Łyś, Roksana Nowacka, Ewa Tomankiewicz — Contents 7 — INTRODUCTION 182 — AFTER THE CANCELLATION 185 — the outraged 14 — CALENDAR OF EVENTS 219 — bishops 237 — politicians 24 — BEFORE THE CANCELLATION 259 — the police 27 — the outraged 265 — the malta festival poznań 57 — bishops 337 — the art community 81 — politicians 129 — the police 445 — ANALYSIS 141 — the malta festival poznań 447 — Wojciech Brzozowski 157 — the art community In the shadow of the Penal code. “Golgota Picnic” debate from the 177 — CANCELLATION point of view of a lawyer 458 — Wiesław Godzic “Golgota Picnic” in the media – no hope for a compromise — Golgota Picnic in Poland. An account of the events — INTRODUCTION — INTRODUCTION On June 20, 2014, the Malta Festival Poznań cancelled the performance of the play Golgota Picnic, one of the leading events of the festival’s 24th edition. The play was scheduled to be performed on June 27 and 28 at the Zamek Cultural Centre. The author of the piece, Rodrigo García, was the curator of the festi- val’s Thematic Idiom Latin America: Mestizos. The decision to cancel the performance — the result of unprecedented attacks by Catholic groups, and the pow- erlessness of the state — sparked a media scandal, and quickly became a question of public interest. This happened because the issue of Golgota Picnic had became another in a series of events that had tested the limits of Polish democ- racy. The decision to cancel the play provoked a nationwide debate on the condition of the Polish state, the freedom of speech, the relationship between art, the Church, and the government, and provided the impulse for further action. Let us review the sequence of events. May 16 marked the first announcement of the planned protests. Shortly afterwards, the Malta team received a pe- tition calling for the removal of the play from the festival — 6 — 7 — Golgota Picnic in Poland. An account of the events — INTRODUCTION schedule. The actions of opponents of the performance be- the key role in the decision to cancel the performance, rath- gan to pick up steam. Various nationalist and ultra-Catho- er but the position taken by representatives of the Polish state. lic media outlets and organizations joined the efforts. The On June 16, Poznań Mayor Ryszard Grobelny called a online petition against the performance of Golgota Picnic meeting of the crisis management team which included the gathered over 40,000 signatures in a few days. mayor himself, representatives of Malta Festival Poznań, the In early June 2014, ultra-Catholic groups received the Zamek Cultural Centre, the Poznań Police Department, and support of Catholic Church officials. Poznań Archbishop Poznań City Hall. The police announced that 30 to 50 thou- Stanisław Gądecki, who also serves as the president of the sand people were expected to take part in a June 27 protest Polish Episcopal Conference, sanctioned the actions of the against the performance of Golgota Picnic. It was explained protesters in a letter addressed to the director of the festi- that six thousand people were sufficient to effectively shut val, and on the TVN television network called for nationwide down the city center. The Malta Festival team was also told protests in a few days time. Archbishop Gądecki was not that on the following day, June 28, a Piotr Reiss benefit event the only Church official to take part in the protest. He was was planned at INEA Stadium, which would involve the pres- joined by Bishop Wiesław Mering, president of the Polish ence of large numbers of football fans in Poznań. Further- Episcopal Conference’s Council on Culture, as well as the more, supporters of three football teams had announced archbishops of Gdańsk and Częstochowa, and the bishop their plans to take part in the protest. Despite the fact that emeritus of Kalisz, all of whom spoke in favour of the arch- the Law on Police makes no mention of such a thing as a dec- bishop’s protest in homilies and during Corpus Christi cel- laration of powerlessness on the part of the police, law en- ebrations. Following the cancellation of the performance, forcement officials proposed that the date and time of the the archdioceses of Krakow, Lublin, Bydgoszcz, and War- performance be changed. This was impossible due to the saw joined the protests in response to attempts to screen scheduling constraints of the actors and alternative venues. videos of the play in other cities. All of the archdioceses Two days later, on June 18, the Mayor of Poznań issued spoke out against the screenings. No one had yet seen the an official letter in which he shifted all responsibility for any play or recordings of it. As the protesters admitted, their escalation of the conflict onto the organizers of the festival. knowledge of the piece was sourced from the Internet, and In the final sentence of the statement, the mayor wrote that they had made references to fragments of the play that had he would note be attending the play, as it was incompatible been found on YouTube and taken out of context. with his personal values. The actions of Church officials were crucial. Their objec- The information provided by the police and the lack of tions gave the protest movement an informal leadership support on the part of city officials and the art community that had authority and access to the media. Their state- led the Malta Festival to cancel the play on June 20, seven ments on the matter influenced the actions of other parties, days before its planned performance. particularly politicians and groups outraged over the play. It is worth noting that in France, where protests It wasn’t, however, the actions of the bishops that played against the performances of Golgota Picnic were also — 8 — 9 — Golgota Picnic in Poland. An account of the events — INTRODUCTION held, the art community immediately stood up in support support that could have helped it stand up to the thousands of the play, and bishops called for peace. The city and po- of protesters against García’s play. The cancellation of Gol- lice took the side of the theater. Another important logis- gota Picnic did, however, spark an avalanche of reactions in tical difference was that the French performances were the Polish cultural world — from unconditional support to held in a closed theater building rather than an open and harsh criticism of the decision, along with accusations of multifunctional community center. Furthermore, the cowardice. French organizers did not have to consider the safety Among the most active in its support was the civic of audiences attending outdoor events. A large portion movement known as Citizens of Culture, which addressed of the program in Poznań (including concerts, debates, an open letter to the president of Poland. In the letter, talks, children’s workshops, and some plays) take place members of the movement protested against censorship at Malta Generator, an open space at Freedom Square. and expressed their concern with the situation in Poznań. Malta Generator cannot be sealed and is thus vulnerable Meanwhile, non-profit organizations, theaters, and private to attacks by such groups as football hooligans. individuals began contacting Malta Festival Poznań, asking Although the Malta Festival cancelled the play in Poznań, to organise public readings and screenings of audiovisual its organizers did make efforts to move the performance to recordings of Golgota Picnic. The festival provided a subti- another Polish city. Talks were held with the cities of Bydgo- tled recording and a Polish translation of the play. Staged szcz, Kraków, and Warsaw. After examining its technical readings and screenings were held in over a dozen Polish capabilities, the Malta Festival Poznań attempted to hold cities to coincide with the original time and date of the play. a one-off performance at Krzysztof Warlikowski’s Nowy Some of these events were cancelled, while others were Teatr. Thanks to the goodwill and efficient cooperation of interrupted by protesters, and most were accompanied by Nowy Teatr, all of the technical and production conditions local demonstrations. were fulfilled. Another important event was the debate titled “Who Rodrigo García refused to stage Golgota Picnic in War- Needs Freedom,” hosted by Malta Festival. For over four saw, however, on the grounds that the piece was too com- hours on June 27, participants discussed the events sur- plicated to prepare on such short notice. As a result, the rounding Golgota Picnic in the context of creative freedom piece was not performed in its entirety. On June 26, Nowy as well as the state of democracy and public debate in Po- Teatr hosted a performance of Golgota Picnic that took the land. Poznań had not witnessed an equally important and im- form of an expanded reading (with a concert and screen- passioned debate in years. Both supporters and opponents ing of video footage featured in the original version). Due of the performance shared their opinions in a calm, mat- to the decision made by Rodrigo García, this was the only ter-of-fact tone. Present at the debate were Poznań Mayor possible way to stage the play in Poland. Ryszard Grobelny, who appeared in the audience and was Despite its efforts in the period leading up to the cancel- quickly called upon to comment, as well as the legal coun- lation of the event, Malta Festival did not receive the mass sel of Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki. Several hundred peo- — 10 — 11 — Golgota Picnic in Poland.