Weronika Murek
PLAGUES
(Morowe nasze dla nas)
5m, 2w
SYNOPSIS
The play begins with the arrival of Chronically Ill to hospital. It a very strange place: it is directed by Tailor and the patients come there not to be cured, but to stay ill as long as possible. If a person gets cured, he or she is mercilessly thrown out into the unpleasant world outside, where they have to look after themselves. In the hospital they get regular meals, have a place to stay and receive clean clothes. The only thing one is required to do is to look ill enough and to undergo examinations, during which only their shadow in the mirror and a chicken leg representing their arm are checked up. It is thus not surprising that the main activity the patients are involved in is a rather senseless game of tag, played while sitting. The only inconsistent element among the otherwise content occupants of this strange hospital (the author implies that it is not a solitary place, but the latest trend) is Jane, a seemingly foolish girl who might or might not be ill. According to the author, it is even dubious if she is alive or not.
The text is interesting especially because of its disjointed, Kafkaesque logic and slightly mad atmosphere of the twilight zone between reality and dream.