Playing the victim

Oleg and Vladimir Presnyakov
“Playing the victim” (Изображая жертву)
Translated by: Agnieszka Lubomira Piotrowska
Direction and musical arrangement: Bartosz Zaczykiewicz
Stage movement: Tatiana Asmołkowa
Set: Iza Toroniewicz
Premiere: October 20, 2013
A tragicomedy, written with bravura language, refers to great tradition of Russian grotesque. The main character of the play is 20-something Val’ka, who, after graduating from the university is employed in the police in the role of … a dead body. His peculiar occupation involves incorporating into the roles of victims during the reconstructions of common murders carried out within the scope of investigations. However, these grotesque local visions are not aimed at detailed clarification of the truth, but their goal is to prove a preconceived thesis “this fits more or less, so it’s fine …”. At the same time, in the drama, numerous pastiche analogies to Shakespeare’s Hamlet are present: Val’ka’s father dies in not entirely clear circumstances, while the uncle makes advances to his mother … Presnyakov brothers masterfully combine the absurd of the situation and black humor with original and penetrating look on today’s unprincipled world, where nothing is as it should be; they combine numerous gags with the observation of human alienation and loneliness.

Starring: Małgorzata Abramowicz, Aleksandra Bednarz, Anna Magalska-Milczarczyk, Mirosława Sobik, Maciej Raniszewski, Michał Marek Ubysz, Arkadiusz Walesiak, Grzegorz Wiśniewski.

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes (without a break)