The Drunks (Stary Theatre)

Created on the basis of an Enlightenment comedy, this performance terrifies audiences, making them laugh until they cry: “Drunkenness in all its variants, very insinuatingly enacted by the actors, is (forgive the pun) the spiritus movens of Wysocka’s production. This initially sluggish tale (…) accelerates with every shot glass. The set is veristic at first, presenting a hideous urban courtyard with garages, a carpet-beating rack, an old bathtub, and a barbeque, then becomes increasingly Expressionistic (…). And, somewhat as in commedia dell’arte, our laughter at the consecutive, increasingly macabre illnesses that strike our protagonists, and the increasingly grotesque methods by which they are cured is paired with a certain discomfort – and this grows larger the louder we guffaw. The fun in The Drunks is much less innocent than it might seem,” warns Anna R. Burzyńska in dwutygodnik.com. In this play, which shows Poland through the lens of its eternal addiction, euphoria blends with a powerful hangover…