Combining poetry-theatre, live music, and collage; two actors and a musician journey through fragmented and visceral encounters with the world. Inspired by the poems and ironic collage work of Polish poet Wisława Szymborska, This is Why We Live is a kaleidoscope of characters; bringing the audience close to the poet’s state of astonishment. This is a unique international collaboration between Canadian company, Open Heart Surgery Theatre, Tara Arts (UK) and Theatre de L’Enfumeraie (France); blending three languages, we delight in bringing our audience into a surreal performance that celebrates a great female voice of the 20th century.

Post-show talk on Saturday October 8th – EMBODIED Poetry – Szymborska Today with Professor Tamara Trojanowska, author Eva Stachniak, and Toronto poets Shirley Camia and Robert Priest.

Funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, The Polish Cultural Institute in Paris, and the Polish Consulate.