Tadeusz Slobodzianek: Our class
Katona József Theatre, Budapest
The polish Slobodzianek follows the path of a group of schoolkids: it is based on ten polish and jewish student’s personal story and poignant memoir reflecting on their home country’s position during the 20th century’s terrifying events, from 1925 to present day. On the threshold of their carefree childhood the second world war breaks out and the class is torn apart first by the bolshevik dictatorship, later the fascist terror and it is followed by the communist regime. As the various ideologies spread they deepen the underlying conflicts between the classmates, friends betray each other and commit outrageous deeds and as they reach adolescence their childlike harmony turns into a series of horrifying events.
The play uses authentic events from the charged history of the 20th century and it does not only aim to reflect on the complicated polish-jewish-german-russian relations, but holds a universal message about human tolerance and understanding and the lack of it. It also describes the historic process of how innocent jokes, careless statements and seemingly unrelevant conflicts seamlessly turn into unconcealed hatred against each other. ’Our class’ is a poignant narrative of individual and collective sin, of responsibility and justice, that no one seems to demand.
The play was premiered in the Royal National Theatre in London in 2009, since then it was featured in Warsawa, Barcelona and Toronto.
Director: Gábor Máté
Performed by: Hanna Pálos, Réka Pelsőczy, Erika Bodnár, Viktor Dénes, Péter Takátsy, Zoltán Rajkai, János Bán, László Szacsvay, Dénes Ujlaki, Péter Haumann
In 2012, it won the Theatre Critics Award for Best Performance.
The polish Slobodzianek follows the path of a group of schoolkids: it is based on ten polish and jewish student’s personal story and poignant memoir reflecting on their home country’s position during the 20th century’s terrifying events, from 1925 to present day. On the threshold of their carefree childhood the second world war breaks out and the class is torn apart first by the bolshevik dictatorship, later the fascist terror and it is followed by the communist regime. As the various ideologies spread they deepen the underlying conflicts between the classmates, friends betray each other and commit outrageous deeds and as they reach adolescence their childlike harmony turns into a series of horrifying events.
The play uses authentic events from the charged history of the 20th century and it does not only aim to reflect on the complicated polish-jewish-german-russian relations, but holds a universal message about human tolerance and understanding and the lack of it. It also describes the historic process of how innocent jokes, careless statements and seemingly unrelevant conflicts seamlessly turn into unconcealed hatred against each other. ’Our class’ is a poignant narrative of individual and collective sin, of responsibility and justice, that no one seems to demand.
The play was premiered in the Royal National Theatre in London in 2009, since then it was featured in Warsawa, Barcelona and Toronto.
Director: Gábor Máté
Performed by: Hanna Pálos, Réka Pelsőczy, Erika Bodnár, Viktor Dénes, Péter Takátsy, Zoltán Rajkai, János Bán, László Szacsvay, Dénes Ujlaki, Péter Haumann
In 2012, it won the Theatre Critics Award for Best Performance.