Review: HE LEFT THE HOUSE. THE SO-CALLED COMEDY. at Teatr Wspolczesny Wroclaw

The show is based on the concept that house is a man. If you leave a house you can watch yourself from outside and who knows what you would see?

The director Marek Fiedor asks the question and tries to sketch a response. It's not easy to answer but a look at your life as an outsider is worthwhile.

The first part is a very lyrical and intimate manifesto of loneliness and longing as Ewa, the wife, Zina Kerste, is missing her husband. She's looking for herself after a loss, she's struggling. She starts to doubt everyday life, because what is worth of a button if there is no eternity? Her sadness is contagious. We realize with her that everyday life makes us forget about basic things, does your husband wears glasses? We are not present in the moment enough to notice basic things. Only some great tragedy helps us break out of dullness and think about what it is like to be me and how to return to ourselves consciously. These are important questions and it's good that they are asked indirectly.

When Henryk (great Mariusz Kiljan) is coming back home he's happy, mainly because he doesn't remember much but he's content and hassle-free. His family has to act and remind him that the world is not happy place, but rather a black hole. Classic.

The wounded man takes off one bandage after another, exposing himself to the world, which actually make him worse and worse. He wants to teach the children, Beniamin (Tomasz Taranta) and Gizela (fantastic Dominika Probachta) how to live. He instills in them some strange, artificial formulas that we all have heard more than once in our lives, but only now they seem absurd. Everyone tries, and it works out as always ...

This 'outside' view is extremely valuable and thought-provoking. This is a great thing!

A comedy (even so-called one) wouldn't be a comedy if it weren't for the jokes. There are two fantastic scenes with a very comic potential that is used pretty well. The first is a father-daughter conversation, when she tries to remind him of the political figures by quoting their unforgettable words. Pace and humor ... A real greatness!

The second is the moment when a journalist (Maciej Kowalczyk) interviews passersby. I will not spoil how he does it, but his seriousness and situational humor do the job.

This play is not a comedy, if it is it's very bitter. Mariusz Kiljan perfectly carries it through getting lost, humor and reflection to hide behind bandages - this time as a part of an escape from (literal) dirt. A sad way out.

Great show Ladies and Gentlemen, definitely worth to see.

Photo: Filip Wierzbicki

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