Pieces of a Woman, or a woman taken to pieces

On May 4 and 5, TR Warszava Theatre presents Kata Wéber and Kornél Mundruczó’s play Pieces of a Woman at the Vígszínház.

“I come from the world of the theatre and I believe it is the audience who decides whether a theatrical play will work as a film adaptation,” said Kornél Mundruczó about his acclaimed work, Pieces of a Woman.

This is the director’s first Hollywood film, executive produced by none other than Martin Scorsese and written by Mundruczó’s co-author, Kata Wéber (White God, Jupiter’s moon). The film, which is also on Netflix, is a real star-studded parade: starring Vanessa Kirby as the protagonist, Shia LaBeouf as her husband, and her mother is played by Ellen Burstyn, who earlier won an Oscar for a Scorsese movie.

The main character, who loses her child in childbirth and then goes through the stages of grief in silence, in her own way, brilliantly reveals the deepest recesses of the female psyche. For her delivery, Kirby won the Golden Lion for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival two years ago.

Kornél Mundruczó’s Pieces of a Woman was originally staged in Poland by TR Warszawa in 2018, and he was named Best Director of the Season for his “virtuoso realisation of an intimate narrative mixed with cinematic elements”.

The play is set in Warsaw and focuses on strong female characters. We find ourselves at a family gathering where, over time, the internal conflicts of the Polish society are revealed. The production also uses elements such as nudity, smoke and strong lighting effects, so viewer discretion is advised.

Pieces of a Woman comes to the Budapest Spring Festival after Avignon, Athens, Amsterdam, and Hamburg, as part of a European tour. The audience of the Vígszínház can be part of this extraordinary theatre experience on 4 and 5 May. The language of the performance is Polish, with Hungarian and English subtitles.