TRANZIT#6: “HEARTBURN” – COSMINO THEATRE

8.8.2025.

17th September 2025 at 7.30 p.m.
HKD na Sušaku, Strossmayerova 1, Rijeka
Duration: 70 mins
Presented in Polish, English, and Spanish, with English translations.
⚟ WOMEN’S RIGHTS, HUMOROUS, EMOTIONAL
Tickets can be purchased online and at authorized Eventim sales points.

‘Heartburn moves from laughter to tears. It bursts with pain, anger and love. It is a story about women and it is my story’. Ewa Kaczmarek, theatre director, Poland

Heartburn is a bold and powerful production by Cosmino Theatre, inspired by the events in Poland in 2020 when the Constitutional Tribunal, led by Julia Przyłębska, issued a controversial ruling about abortion. The performance serves as a manifesto of frustration, addressing the global issues of patriarchy, political corruption, and the erosion of human rights and women’s equality. Presented in Polish, English, and Spanish, with English translations, Heartburn blends raw emotion with a cutting critique of European and global systems, challenging audiences to reflect on the state of the world today.

Created and directed by the company
Performers: Eva Rufo and Rachel Karafistan
Costumes: Renata Kałek
Project Artwork: Jo Johnston
Production assistant & translation: Kaja Banaszak
Music: Kuba Pierzchalski

Rachel and Kuba of Cosmino Theatre join forces with Spanish performer, Eva Rufo and British, Berlin based visual artist, Jo Johnston to bring you Heartburn.

Heartburn was dreamed into life during the early days of the pandemic over Zoom. We dreamed of creating an artistic space to vent our frustrations about being women, we dreamed of facilitating a safe space to help other women to do the same.

This performance, workshop and website are the result of these dreams.

One of the many catalysts for the Heartburn project was Rachel’s experience of losing a baby at 24 weeks in the UK thirteen years ago and her reflections on how this would be experienced today by a woman in Poland where abortion is effectively illegal. Among the other issues we explore in the performance are women’s bodies and the church; violence against women; women’s rage and menopause.

Two women face the truth of the dissolution of the European egalitarian dream.

Everywhere they look things are not equal; in the taxi at the end of the night, on the bench in the middle of a village, in the congregation, in the boardroom, in the home. They tell stories of abortion, sing about violence and dance about menopause.

They remember the lies they were told as children and question the hope that things might be different for future generations. The performance uses puppetry, comedy, song, text and movement to create a hybrid, humorous and powerful perspective on being a woman in Europe today.

‘For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve’ Timothy 2:1

Critic and Audience Reactions

‘Thank you for this lightning storm of hope in dark times.

I am an old-fashioned theatre man.

On evenings like this I gain my confidence

in the magic of theatre as a dignified phenomenon.

Only the fragile form of life, tense between power and powerlessness, possesses dignity.’

Christoff Bleidt – Theaterhaus Berlin

‘Heartburn moves from laughter to tears.
It bursts with pain, anger and love.
It is a story about women and it is my story’.
Ewa Kaczmarek, Tlusta Langusta, Poland

‘The truth is that it was so strong, that I was speechless’
‘A beautiful and powerful performance, where the truth was sometimes unbearable’
‘Heartburn swings through the emotions, like riding a roller coaster’
‘This performance set off what felt like fireworks in my heart with so many different thoughts, feelings and experiences exploding all at once.’
‘Intimate and public all at once because it concerns everyone’
‘I hope that this show will be played often,
It is important, uncompromising and necessary.’

Workshop for the audience: Your Story
Workshop leaders: Cosmino Theatre
Language: English
16th September 2025 from 5.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Reserve your place on krila.rezervacije@gmail.com.

As part of the experience surrounding the performance, we invite all audience members to join a free, creative workshop led by members of the artistic team. In this session, participants will be guided through the process of creating “story collages” — visual narratives that draw on personal memories and experiences, inspired by the themes explored in the show.

In this hands-on workshop, we invite you to reflect and express your personal story through collage-making. With the gentle guidance of an artist, you will choose and combine images, words, and textures that resonate with your own lived experience. No drawing or art skills are required — just a willingness to explore and share.

This process offers a safe and supportive environment in which to explore themes such as gender inequality, societal expectations, and personal resilience. Whether subtle or striking, each collage becomes a powerful expression of the participant’s voice.

Participants are encouraged to consider the challenges, joys, and contradictions of their experiences: How does gender inequality shape our lives? What stories have we inherited? What do we wish to say or change?

There is no right or wrong way to create — just your truth, framed through the images and words that speak for you.

www.heartburnwomen.com

Cosmino Theatre have been dreaming theatrical experiences into reality for over 25 years. We believe firmly in the ability of the arts to cross boundaries, dream new futures and provoke positive change in the world. Cosmino Theatre was founded in 1998 in the UK by Rachel Karafistan and since 2010 has been based in Berlin, Germany. Cosmino have created over 15 productions including performances with collaborators including the State Theatre of Salzburg and Greenwich Theatre, London. Productions currently on tour include Rachel’s award-winning solo performance “Dreams Die Hard” inspired by her grandmother’s wartime diary and her Turkish-Cypriot roots. “Heartburn” is our ambitious new project exploring the rights of women. We are delighted to be working with Spanish performer, Eva Rufo and British visual artist, Jo Johnston. Heartburn premiered in January 2022 and is currently touring internationally. Drawing on diverse cultural backgrounds and artistic practices, Cosmino Theatre creates thought-provoking works that resonate with global audiences. Their productions aim to challenge societal norms, provoke discussion, and inspire change, often blending various theatrical styles and languages to create a unique and immersive experience. Known for their bold and experimental approach, Cosmino Theatre is committed to fostering dialogue and creating art that reflects the complexities of the modern world.

“On a visit to Romania in 1997, I met a homeless boy who was about 8 years old. Somehow it happened that I gave him a bottle of shampoo. The next day, he found me and showed me that he had washed his hair, only he had very carefully washed one side and not the other. When I asked why, he said that he wanted to show me the amazing difference between dirty and clean.

His name was Cosmin (and we added the o) and he could turn cartwheels like no one I have ever met.

In ancient Greek, Cosmin means to be in solidarity with life.

Dirty and clean, light and dark – Cosmino make theatre in solidarity with all the complexities of humanity.

Cosmino aims to share:
The potential of polarity
The art of a dream
The beauty of pain
The fragility of happiness.” (Rachel Karafistan)

Cosmino Productions was founded in Coventry, UK in 1998 by Rachel Karafistan. Then in 2000, while working as an actor on ‘Millenium Mysteries’ a coproduction between the Belgrade Theatre and Polish company, Teatr Biuro Podrozy, staged in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, Rachel met Polish actor, Kuba Pierzchalski and their collaboration through life and art began.

Today they live and work in Berlin, Germany with their two children.

www.cosmino.org

Additional Info

Pre-Show Workshop: There will be a 90 minute workshop for interested audience before the performance on 16th Sept 2025
Post-Show Talk: There will be a 30-minute post-show talk after the performance on 17th Sept 2025. The moderator is Iva Nerina Sibila, theatre and dance critic, publicist and dance artist from Zagreb, Croatia.
Age Limit: Recommended for audiences aged 14 years and above.
Latecomers Policy: Latecomers will only be admitted at a suitable break in the performance.
Language: This is performance is in English, with occasional Spanish and Polish for which there are English subtitles.

TICKETS

TYPE	PARTER	ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
General	15 euros	Online and at the box office
Early bird	12 euros	Online before 1st September 2025
FESTIVAL ticket for 5 performances	50,00 euros	Only via email krila.rezervacije@gmail.com before 17th September 2025
Group Sales (Bundle for 4)	42,00 euros	Online and at the box office

Production: Creative Laboratory of Contemporary Theatre KRILA
Artistic Director and Curator: Ivana Peranić
Visual identity: Ana Somek
Design of promotional materials: Katarina Ratkaj
Financial Support: The City of Rijeka, Ministarstry of Culture and Media of Republic of Croatia, Primorsko-goranska County, Kultura nova Foundation
Logistic Support: HKD na Sušaku, Savez udruga Molekula
Partner: Choreoscope – Barcelona Dance Film Festival
Media Support: H-Alter, Kulturpunkt.hr, Rijeka Danas, Novi list, teklić.hr svakidan, Rijeka Tourist Board

TRANZIT#6: “HEARTBURN” – COSMINO THEATRE

Follow us: