The Curse

When the relationship between the Church and the state seems to be indissoluble, and church authorities try to influence with all their power any secular institutions and the decisions of individuals, the creators of the play find out whether the resistance to those mechanisms is still possible. To what extent are our decisions influenced by Catholic morals? How do they affect the perception of people who declare their independence from the Church, and what do they mean for those who regard themselves as Catholics? And most of all: to what extent is modern art defined by religious censorship, self-censorship, and avoidance of the accusation of “ insulting religious beliefs”?

The Curse employs motives from Wyspiański’s drama to create a multi-layered landscape of modern religiousness and non-religiousness. As part of the theatre, governed by its own hierarchy and employing various subordination and humiliation mechanisms, the creators wonder whether they are able to overcome fear of the authority, or even to dispose of the authority itself.

Oliver Frljić, a renowned director and playwright from Croatia, is a representative of European critical plays that bravely discuss complex social and political issues. The Polish audience knows him from plays staged at the Dialogue and Contact festivals. In 2015, the Powszechny Theatre presented his play Damned be a traitor of his homeland as part of the thematic block Scream!

For adults only.
The play contains scenes which refer to sexual actions, violence, and religion, which, despite their satirical nature, can be regarded as controversial. All scenes presented during the play are only the reflection of an artistic vision.

The play employs a loud music and stroboscopic effect (a light pulsating with high frequency).
Any persons vulnerable to this type of lightning are requested to remain cautious at all times.