Un Week-end à l’Est marks its tenth anniversary by turning its cultural spotlight to Kraków, running from November 16 to November 28, 2026, exactly ten years after its inaugural edition honored Warsaw, ActuaLitté.com reported.
The Festival Schedule at a Glance
- November 18, 2026: The Indomitable Love of Eve Adams premieres at the Théâtre de l’Alliance française at 20:00.
- November 19, 2026: Katarzyna Kalwat presents Kofman. Double Bind at the MPAA/Saint-Germain at 20:00.
- November 21, 2026: Simona K. Crying in the Wilderness stages at the Théâtre de l’Alliance française at 18:00.
Kraków Takes the Spotlight
Sponsored by stage director Krystian Lupa, the festival places live performance at its core. The programmed works weave together literature, history, and modern political anxieties. Three distinct theatrical pieces investigate identity, historical memory, and personal emancipation through female destinies shaped by twentieth-century upheavals.
Lives Reclaimed on Stage
On Thursday, November 19, 2026, at 20:00, director Katarzyna Kalwat presents Kofman. Double Bind at the MPAA/Saint-Germain. The production draws inspiration from French philosopher Sarah Kofman’s autobiographical work Rue Ordener, rue Labat. The play examines her childhood during the Second World War, torn between her biological Jewish mother and the French woman who sheltered her.
The staging probes the contradictions of belonging, the burden of trauma, and individual self-construction. Following the performance, a public discussion features the cast and director Katarzyna Kalwat, moderated by Libération journalist Victor Inisan, with French surtitles provided for the audience.
Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at 20:00 at the Théâtre de l’Alliance française, director Olga Ciężkowska presents The Indomitable Love of Eve Adams. Born Chawa Złoczewer in Poland, she emigrated to New York in 1912 at age nineteen. Adopting the name Eve Adams, she immersed herself in anarchist and queer circles, established lesbian clubs in Chicago and New York, and published Lesbian Love in 1925.
Following her deportation from the United States in 1927, she settled in France before her eventual arrest, deportation, and murder at Auschwitz in 1943. The production interrogates how modern societies treat individuals who reject established social norms.
Echoes of Ecofeminism
The theatrical lineup continues on Saturday, November 21, 2026, at 18:00 at the Théâtre de l’Alliance française with Simona K. Crying in the Wilderness. Directed by Anna Gryszkówna and starring Agnieszka Przepiórska, the monodrama draws from Simona Kossak’s biography written by Anna Kamińska. The play depicts the solitary, determined, and contradictory pioneer of ecofeminism.
Rather than presenting a standard heroic arc, the drama explores the choices and vulnerabilities of a figure deeply devoted to the natural world. The performance concludes with a panel featuring Simonetta Greggio, author of Le Souffle de la forêt. Sur les traces de Simona Kossak, and Laura Pozzi, author of La dernière forêt, with moderation by France Culture journalist Marie Sorbier.
| Date | Production | Venue | Key Figure / Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 18, 2026 | The Indomitable Love of Eve Adams | Théâtre de l’Alliance française | Chawa Złoczewer / Eve Adams |
| November 19, 2026 | Kofman. Double Bind | MPAA/Saint-Germain | Sarah Kofman |
| November 21, 2026 | Simona K. Crying in the Wilderness | Théâtre de l’Alliance française | Simona Kossak |
