On Tour in Warsaw

Available for over a year

Thirty years since the fall of Communism and in the run up to elections, Poland is experiencing sharp divisions between conservative and liberal values, pro and anti European views, strong Catholic traditions and the quest for individual liberty. On stage at Polish radio, in front of a live audience, Nikki Bedi and her guests explore the new Polish cultural identities emerging in their work and how the arts are being politicised in Warsaw now. Writer Jakub Żulczyk has turned his best-selling novel Blinded by the Lights into Poland’s hottest TV drama. He explains why it is such a dark portrait of Warsaw and why the central character needed to be a drug dealer. Artist Luka Rayski explains how his poster of the word `Constitution' has become a universal symbol of Polish protest and changed his life. Stand-up comedian Filip van der Brym verbally dissects the image of Poles around the world and two young virtual reality directors join the debate on political interpretations of Warsaw’s war-torn history. Performing live, there’s powerful urban folk music from The Warsaw Village Band and jazz queen Aga Zaryan, singing love poetry from the Warsaw Uprising Soul singer Paulina Przybysz performs her personal cry for freedom and takes Nikki Bedi on the Culture Cab tour of Warsaw’s artistic secrets. Image (c) BBC