Plays
- Daria Sobik TIRED
A text about working in the theatre, written from the perspective of the theatre office. Employees of the administration, promotion department and other "tired" women are stuck at their desks for many hours, being underestimated and mobbed. They do not dare to change anything, telling themselves that a job in such a place is a life promotion, although, in fact, antidepressants and fantasies of resignation help them survive. Meanwhile, theatres are run by artists, which is not necessarily a good idea. An accurate, bitter satire on irregularities in cultural institutions.
- Magda Mosiewicz, Dominik Skrzypkowski B
The story of a young guy who finds a job in a resort on a German island (Sylt) during the pandemic. It quickly turns out that the place presented as a paradise for wealthy gay men is a hell of exploitation for the employees. Economic relations and erotic relations intertwine disturbingly here, deepening one’s sense of humiliation and dependence. The narrator, exploited beyond his strength and robbed of his wages, falls into apathy, from which he is awakened by the arrival of a younger, hearing-impaired boy. Taking care of him turns into a difficult relationship, and eventually the story of exploitation turns into a love story.
- Lukáš Brutovský D1 (Working Title). The Poem in Progress / D1 (PRACOVNÝ NÁZOV) mýtus o diaľnici
A theatrical poem about the construction of the D1 motorway which should connect Bratislava with Košice, but due to (among others) political machinations and difficult terrain, it has not been completed so far, much to the Slovaks’ great frustration. The text was the basis for the script of one of the most important Slovak performances of recent years.
- Paco Gámez PRAGUE, 1941. Young Blonde Men Keep Screaming Under My Window/ Praga, 1941 (Jóvenes rubios no paran de gritar frente a mi casa)
Inspired by Petr Ginz’s diary, it is a play about the everyday life of Czech Jews in the first years of the war. The author uses the mise en abyme method, as the notes of a young boy from 1941 are discovered by his today’s peer. This way an intimate story, full of compassion and care, comes into being.
Essays, Studies
- Joanna Bednarek Are we living in the society of tiredness?
The feature discusses the phenomena of fatigue, professional burnout and depression as a result of changes in capitalism in the last few decades. At the same time, it confronts Byung-Chul Han's concept of the "society of tiredness" with the analyses by Michel Husson and David Graeber, discussing the systemic causes of the symptoms that Han recognizes without explaining them.
- Monocultures are not good for us
Magda Mosiewicz and Kornelia Sobczak talk to Jerzy Kociatkiewicz about alternative, non-hierarchical models of managing institutions and how they work in real life.
- Sara Manasterska Secrets of the island of Sylt
In the map, Sylt resembles a landing bird, beating its wings towards the continent. Its shape is still not everything, the landscape of the island being also quite extraordinary: sands, grasses and heaths, and this unusual palette of colours, seen as if through a light mist, typical of the North Sea coast.
- Justyna Jaworska Novels I would rather forget about
On Paweł Soszyński's novels written before he became an editor and reviewer, devoted to the theatre, and sensitive to the subcutaneous content and rhythms of the performances he described, and also before he started writing dramas. One could say that the beautiful catastrophe suffered by his unread novels was as queer as the wonderful art of failure can be.
- Wojciech Szot Soszka in the Land of Oz
Paweł Soszyński was the author of several dramas. The only one published during the author's lifetime was Teo, which appeared in 2018 in the October “Dialogue”. Polish Spiritology was staged in the same year by Jakub Skrzywanek in two theatres. The collection of other three - Mary Poppers, 84061 and the unfinished Fly Trainer - written in the years 2018-2020 has been just published by Krytyka Polityczna.
- Dubravka Ugresić On the archives
According to ordinary mortals the word “archives” is synonymous with something that is original and authentic. Whoever is in the possession of the archives has got great power of manipulation. That's why the price of archives is rising in our value market, whether it concerns the slippers that Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz or the writers’ archives. The writers who were offered to sell their archives while they are still alive become immortal.
- Paulina Eryka Masa, Filip Szałasek Counting down to the fire
The spectre of the recurrence of Francisco Franco’s destructive rule meant that the systemic transformation in Spain had to take place as quickly as possible, even at the cost of neglecting such strong affects as the desire for revenge or going through the grieving process. In the interests of the still fragile democracy, politicians and social activists kept silent about the crimes of the regime, and all forms of commemoration of the victims were treated sceptically as opening unhealed wounds, inhibiting the rush to freedom.
- Karolina Kosieradzka Where are the children?
In the context of the refugee crisis in Europe and the humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, theatrical performances for children from the last five years (When My Dad Turned into a Bush - 2017, Rutka - 2020, The Ark of Time - 2021, Forbidden Children - 2022), exemplifying the demand for stories reaching back to the experience of war, escape, hiding and exile are discussed. In the theatre, the youngest generation is confronted with the painful past and with stories previously considered unsuitable for children.
- Wojciech Orliński Metaphysics of a motorway
The text, according to the editorial order, is to deal with road "metaphysics". The author, who treats the car as something of a "god of travel", does indeed think that the word "metaphysics" is appropriate, although what he is really talking about is reinforced concrete, bitumen wearing course and metal railings.
Columns
Marek Beylin, Barbara Klicka, Kornel Cymerman
Varia
Notes on plays: Juana Escabias Whatsapp; Dina Vukelić Muke sv. Sanje
Playbill
Library