Michał Kmiecik—director and playwright—treated the invitation from the Lodz Film School to stage a graduation production as a challenge to write a play that would be engaging for acting students.

"In recent years, I’ve been interested in the themes of dual identities and reality in an undefined state. That’s how the idea for my graduation show came about. During the conceptual phase, I drew more inspiration from film than from novels—works like Philip Kaufman’s “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Alps”, as well as Werner Herzog’s essay “The Future of Truth”," he recounted.

"Why do people change?" journalists asked.

"Sometimes to avoid recognizing themselves, and sometimes precisely to get to know themselves; sometimes to learn something about themselves, the world, and others," the director explained. "This is a graduation production, and for me, acting is a fundamental element of theatre; that is why the actors have a great deal to play."

The director and the actors propose a specific theatrical style defined by gesture, movement, and space.

"The hardest part in the show is maintaining self-awareness. It requires immense focus. This story is truly beautiful and worth delving into—especially the nuances hidden, for instance, in the silence. (…) That is why I believe the play is also about human communication and the things left unsaid," said actress Julianna Sroka-Kierończyk.

"This is true human nature. Everyone has their own problems—some may seem very trivial or insignificant, while for others, they may be the defining experience of a lifetime. It’s about us and what we go through," added Kacper Bokacz, the actor playing the Husband.

Premiere on October 16 at the Studyjny Theatre!

photos: Anna Kazimierczak