The performance by Szczecin’s Teatr Polski was staged at Forum as part of the Polkowice Theatre Days, a recurring event organized by the local Centrum Animacji. Every year, the event is held under the patronage of well-known actors (this year Anna Dymna; previously, among others, Jerzy Stuhr, Krystyna Janda and Janusz Gajos).
Bruno Jasieński, fascinated by the utopia of communism, created a satire in 1931 about French social democracy, which, instead of fighting for workers’ rights, entered into arrangements with factory owners and allowed itself to be corrupted. The drama proved timeless and translated perfectly into the present day.
Adam Opatowicz, director of “The Mannequins’ Ball,” made only a few cosmetic changes. The director gave the factory owners mobile phones, while the proletarians spoke in the voices of hip-hop artists Andrzej Mikosz “Webber” and Adam Zieliński “Łona.” The play also mentions the party “Law and Socialism.”
The overall message of the performance remains unchanged. When taking power or fighting for it, people are guided solely by their own, highly personal ambitions. There are, of course, worn-out phrases about the good of society, improving conditions, some kind of justice and solidarity for all of us. But, as the master of ceremonies says at the very beginning, money is the only power. After the performance, the viewer may add: and everything that money can buy.
One of the saddest moments in the play was a conversation between two trade unionists. The older man tried to convince the younger one that there was a deeper meaning to practising politics, and that even if a politician broke his neck, there was some higher plan in it, hidden from the common people. At that point, one thinks of the deaths of Andrzej Lepper, Barbara Blida and many other events from our contemporary political scene.
In the play, trade unionists serving a party leader believe in a “skyscraper of power.” According to them, power is assigned to some people at birth, and they ride to the top in an elevator, without effort. For others, the front stairs, covered with red carpets, have been prepared. And for those who cannot get in either from the front or by elevator, there are the service stairs, by which one can laboriously make one’s way even to the very top.
The absurdity and lack of fair rules in the pursuit of power revealed while watching “The Mannequins’ Ball” made for a sad experience. Nevertheless, we certainly saw a good performance. Bolesławiec was undoubtedly invited to one of the stronger highlights of the Theatre Days in Polkowice.
(information: Grażyna Hanaf)