Teatr ZAR
The Gospels of Childhood Triptych
Featured image

Teatr ZAR, Anhelli, The Calling, III, part of The Gospels of Childhood Triptych. Pictured: Ditte Berkeley and Matej Matejka
Photo: Irena LipińskaPolish troupe Teatr ZAR finds beauty in abstract ritual.
—LA Times
In association with Goodman Theatre
Poland’s Teatr ZAR uses song, chanting, and movement in this ritualistic work of theater and music that examines birth, death, pleasure, and pain. The performance is staged in three different installations: the first and third take place in the MCA Theater, with the audience on stage; and the second takes place in the MCA second-floor atrium.
Inspired by ancient sacred music from the Caucasus and based on texts from the little-known apocryphal gospels and a poem by Polish Romantic poet Juliusz Slowacki, Poland’s Teatr ZAR uses song, chanting, and movement in this ritualistic work of theater and music.
- Running time: 180 minutes, with two intermissions
- No late seating
Recommended for mature audiences

Teatr ZAR, Essays on Suicide, II, part of The Gospels of Childhood Triptych
Photo: Lukasz Giza
Teatr ZAR, Anhelli, The Calling, III, part of The Gospels of Childhood Triptych
Photo: Irena LipińskaAbout the Artist
Teatr ZAR is the resident company at the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, Poland, andThe Gospels of Childhood Triptych is a seminal work that builds on the nearly half century of teaching and exploration conducted by Jerzy Grotowski. The work is the culmination of artistic director Jaroslaw Fret and the company's more than ten years of investigative research.

Teatr ZAR, The Gospels of Childhood Triptych. Pictured: Kamila Klamut
Photo: Tom Dombrowski
Teatr ZAR, The Gospels of Childhood Triptych (part III)
Photo: Irena LipińskaDownloads
Funding
Support for this project is generously provided by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago.