Created as part of a scholarship from the Capital City of Warsaw, awarded to Łukasz Chotkowski and a scholarship of Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Republic of Poland Our performance bring back the life and work of Wanda Dynowska, a Polish woman who dedicated her life to cultural dialogue, women’s emancipation, aiding Tibetan refugees, and promoting a utopian existing model between cultures and religions.  

She was an individualist who rejected the ego and lived on her own terms. She morphed between worlds and identities, remaining elusive. She serves as an example of what cultural dialogue leads to. Umadevi worked with Gandhi, Ramana Maharishi, the Dalai Lama, and Krishnamurti throughout her life.   

The performance combines dramatic theatre and puppet theatre, drawing on the visual arts.

premiere kochi muziris biennale 18.01.2026

Writer and Director

Łukasz Chotkowski

Doctor of Arts( PhD), playwright, screenwriter, director, and author of theoretical texts. He is a graduate of the Theatre Academy in Warsaw, where he currently serves as the vice dean of the Directing Department. He has been the chief playwright in municipal theaters and co-authored stage scripts for over 30 productions. He has conducted dramaturgy and directing workshops in theater schools, universities, and theaters, including in Delhi, Kolkata, School of Drama, Thrissur (India), Lviv (Ukraine), and the University of New Mexico (USA). Author of theater plays and film scripts. Books include *Masculinity* and *Stack of Photos.

The Malabar Hotel Theatre was established in 2009. From the beginning, it has been run by Marcin Bartnikowski and Marcin Bikowski. The name of the theatre was inspired by a fictional space – Malabar Hotel – which appears in three of Witkacy’s dramas: Tropical Craze, Independence of Triangles and Metaphysics of a Two-Headed Calf . These texts are the result of an anthropological expedition on which Witkiewicz accompanied Malinowski after the death of Jadwiga Janczewska. The sadness and splendor of the tropics inspired the theatre’s creators to travel on their own, and the Indian Malabar (although in Mister Price Malabar Hotel there is a Burmese Rangoon, which we also managed to visit and set off from there to the Irrawaddy Delta in search of white crocodiles, but that is the basis of another story) became our paradise on earth and a source of inspiration.

We have a recognizable writing style, but it evolves thanks to cooperation with directors (Hendrik Mannes, Magda Miklasz, Michael Vogel, Ewa Piotrowska, Maria Żynel, Agnieszka Glińska, Marcin Wierzchowski) and is a mixture of puppet, dramatic and plastic theatre, to a degree that always depends on the meaning. For us, form is only a support for content and even if it is exuberant, it is not “pure”, although Witkacy inspires us constantly and does not cease to be a guest in our repertoire.

Since 2013, the Malabar Hotel Theatre has been regularly cooperating with the Dramatic Theatre of the Capital City of Warsaw, whose guest stages have become our second home. We have been closely cooperating with theatres in Poland (Studio Theatre in Warsaw, Roma Theatre in Warsaw, Białystok Puppet Theatre, Polish Theatre in Warsaw, Jan Wilkowski School Theatre in Białystok, Collegium Nobilium Theatre, Socho Theatre in Warsaw, Ochota Theatre in Warsaw, Fredro Theatre in Gniezno) and abroad (Shaubude in Berlin, Westfluegel in Leipzig).

The theatre received the following awards:

Group

The Malabar Hotel Theatre was founded in 2009. From the very beginning, it has been run by Marcin Bartnikowski and Marcin Bykowski. The theatre’s name was inspired by the fictional Malabar Hotel, which appears in three of Witkacy’s plays: Tropical Madness, Independence of Triangles, and Metaphysics of a Two-Headed Calf. These plays are the result of an anthropological expedition in which Witkiewicz accompanied Malinowski after the death of Jadwiga Janchewska. The melancholy and grandeur of the tropics inspired the theatre’s creators to embark on their own journey, and the Indian Malabar (although Mr. Prince’s Malabar Hotel is in Burmese Rangoon, where we also managed to travel and from there set off for the Irrawaddy Delta in search of white crocodiles, but that’s another story) became our paradise on Earth and a source of inspiration. We have a recognizable style of writing, but it develops in collaboration with directors (Hendrik Mannes, Majda Miklasz, Michał Vogel, Ewa Piotrowska, Maria Zienel, Agnieszka Glińska, Marcin Wierzchowski) and is a blend of puppetry, dramatic, and visual theatre, which to a certain extent depends on meaning. For us, genre is merely a vessel for content, and even if there is a lot of it, it is not “pure,” although Witkacy constantly inspires us and remains a guest in our repertoire.

Since 2013, the Malabar Hotel Theatre has been regularly collaborating with the Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw, whose guest stage has become our second home. We have collaborated extensively with theaters in Poland (Studio Theatre in Warsaw, Roma Theatre in Warsaw, Białystok Puppet Theatre, Polish Theatre in Warsaw, Jan Wilkowski School Theatre in Białystok, Collegium Theatre, Sokół Theatre in Warsaw, Ochota Theatre in Warsaw, Fredro Theatre in Gniezno) and abroad (Schaubühne in Berlin, Westflügel in Leipzig).

The awards received by the theatre include: the main prize for the play Baldanders at the 13th National Competition for the Exhibition of Polish Contemporary Art (award for the creators of the play: Marcin Bartnikowski and Marcin Bikowski – 2007);

Acting Award for Marcin Bikowski for his role in the play Baldanders at the 13th National Competition for the Exposition of Polish Contemporary Art (2007); Grand Prix Doomsday for the play Biting at the Zdarzenia Festival (2007); Leon Schiller Award for Marcin Bikowski for outstanding achievements in the field of puppetry (2008); Award for Marcin Bikowski for directing Kasan at the Roma Teatro Festival in Rome (2008); Award for the play Scraps, based on Shakespeare’s Othello, at the International Theatre Festival Sasiedzi in Lublin, for a modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s play and an impressive stage performance (2010); Golden Quill in the Culture and Art category by Kurier Poranny (2013); Acting awards for Anna Gorajska and Anna Stella for their roles in the play Ferdydurke at the Gombrowicz Festival (2008). Marcin Bartnikowski received the Young Poland Scholarship from the National Center for Culture twice (2008 and 2010) and won the Hebanowski Special Prize in the National Classic Alive Competition for his play “Rain.”