Nineteenth-century saga in Luk Perceval’s laboratory
Although the plot of the play is based on Émile Zola’s twenty-volume series of novels, “Les Rougon-Macquart”, its composition is neither linear nor orderly. Instead, it is fragmented and random, drawing on the age-old concept of theatre within theatre. The play’s origins can be found in the relationship between one of the series’ main characters, Dr Pascal, and his niece (and lover) Clotilde. Pascal devoted his life to studying heredity, basing his research on the lives of his family. In doing so, he recorded its inglorious history, incurring the wrath of his mother, who wanted to hide the family’s dirty laundry at all costs. He therefore assigns Clotilde the mission of safeguarding his legacy and makes her the custodian of the family’s memory.
Drawing on the likelihood that Dr. Pascal is modelled on Émile Zola himself, Luk Perceval frames his tale as an attempt to rescue the history captured in the twenty volumes of the series—and, by extension, the history of the entire nineteenth century. It is a desperate, and in a truly human sense, tragic undertaking, for the world in which it unfolds already lies in ruins. On stage, a group of characters from the Rougon-Macquart family, as portrayed in the novels, step into the action. As the story demands, they slip into the roles of other relatives or figures they have encountered along the way—all in a bid to save this vast fictional universe from sinking into oblivion.
What makes Luk Perceval’s approach to theatre so remarkable is his gift for distilling twenty volumes of novels into a two-hour performance. He forges a bridge between Zola’s nineteenth-century narrative and the world we inhabit today. It’s worth noting that the Belgian director is among the most sought-after figures in European theatre. His accolades include the Faust Award—Germany’s most prestigious theatre honour—and the esteemed Theater Heute Award. In Poland, he received the Konrad Swinarski Award from the monthly magazine “Teatr” for his staging of “3Sisters”, a TR Warszawa production created in collaboration with the National Stary Theatre (that production was featured in the previous edition of the Dialog–-Wrocław festival). Perceval also returned to the Stary Theatre for his second Polish production: an acclaimed adaptation of O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night”.
The power of the National Stary Theatre’s production lies above all in its exceptional cast, led by the legendary, amazing Anna Dymna. She is joined on stage by an equally outstanding ensemble: Ewa Kaim, Magda Grąziowska, Aleksandra Nowosadko, Krzysztof Zawadzki, and two of Luk Perceval’s favourite Polish actors—Małgorzata Zawadzka and Roman Gancarczyk—both multiple award-winners. Also noteworthy is Justyna Skoczek’s creation of the performance’s live soundscape. The show reaches its climax with a bold and quite unexpected rendition of Stromae’s “Formidable”.
“Under Luk Perceval’s direction, the actors perform like an orchestra, each playing their part to create a harmonious whole. «Sex, Money and Hunger» is a true ensemble piece, with room for both resounding solos and subtle background murmurs. The shared melody is what matters. The Belgian director brought together exceptional artists from the Stary Theatre, yet it is hard to single out any one character who dominated the performance. In this story, each actor steps into the spotlight while also providing the backdrop for the others. Phenomenal talents—Anna Dymna, Roman Gancarczyk, Magda Grąziowska, Ewa Kaim, Aleksandra Nowosadko, Małgorzata Zawadzka, and Krzysztof Zawadzki—form a remarkable team on stage. Perhaps this is the unspoken antidote to the determinism of biology, psychology, and social circumstance?” (Anna Piątkowska, “Gazeta Krakowska”)
About the Theatre:
The Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theatre in Krakow is one of Poland’s oldest public stages. Its patroness is the renowned 19th-century actress famous for her brilliant Shakespearean performances across Europe and America.
The theatre’s current repertoire features both contemporary productions and fresh reinterpretations of classics, alongside innovative multimedia and musical projects. The Stary Theatre remains a welcoming space for emerging artists—directors, set designers, composers, choreographers—and embraces new dramaturgy, with many commissioned works premiering on its stage.
Artistic experimentation flourishes here through workshop performances, video presentations, radio theatre, exhibitions, installations, and talks with theatre practitioners.
About the Director:
Luk Perceval is a Flemish theatre director from Belgium who studied in Antwerp and began his career as an actor at the Royal Dutch Theatre. In 1984, he co-founded the Blauwe Maandag Compagnie. In 1998, this company merged with another to form Het Toneelhuis under Perceval’s leadership, becoming a flagship of the Flemish theatre movement that reshaped European theatre in the 1980s. Since 2005, Perceval has primarily worked in Germany, presenting productions at venues such as the Schaubühne and Thalia Theater, as well as prestigious festivals in Salzburg, Vienna, Avignon, and Edinburgh. In 2018, he returned to Antwerp as a resident artist at NTGent until 2022.
“Sex, Money & Hunger” is his third production at the Stary Theatre, following “3Sisters” (a co-production with TR Warszawa) and “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”. Perceval has developed a distinctive working method based on improvisation, collective creation, text abridgment and rearrangement, and prioritizing the actor over the playwright. Celebrated for his precision, simplicity, poetic condensation, and attention to sound, he is now regarded as one of the leading figures in contemporary European theatre.
