The Lazzi company members for this performance project have both had a long-term interest in, and involvement with, the Polish avant-garde.

David W W Johnstone studied with Leonidas Durdarew-Ossetynski, a close associate to Michael Chekhov, for several years. He toured Poland in the 1980s, giving workshops with Ossetynski to Teatr Gardzenice in Lublin, and Teatr Kto in Warsaw. Other spontaneous workshops took place with Tadeus Huk, and also with members of Kantor's Cricot 2. He played a combined role of Dr Grun/Bidello in Ossetynski's workshop production of The Madman and the Nun in Los Angeles, and played a 'cocaine addict' in the subsequent production of Matka, which starred Polish theatre and film actor Barbara Krafftowna in the central role. Subsequently, he was selected for a special workshop with Ryszard Cieslak of Grotowski's theatre. He has continued to be influenced by the work of Grotowski and Kantor ever since. His most recent visit to Poland was in 2001, when Lazzi took their play Mr Pinocchio to Warsaw.

Sandy Grierson has studied with, and been a company member of Zofia Kalinska's Ariel Teatr for two of their productions, the acclaimed A Little Requiem for Kantor, and Dybuk. Zofia Kalinska was a member of Kantor's Cricot 2, and her productions with Kantor included Witkacy's The Water Hen. He has toured extensively with these productions.

Sandy Grierson as Kantor, with Zofia Kalinska and Mira Rychlicka, in A Little Requiem for Kantor

an image from A Little Requiem for Kantor