Boys

Working in sweat their foreheads from early childhood until death, forced into submission, marriage and motherhood against their will, dreaming of school, their own bed and shoes. Determined to feed the whole family in extreme poverty. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers — underestimated, overlooked by history, shaped by the daily struggle for dignity in a patriarchal society.

“Chłopki” is a theatrical adaptation of the bestselling, Nike Award-nominated book by Joanna Kuciel-Frydryszak. Director Sławomir Narloch uses this multi-threaded and emotional material and creates a theatrical mystery. The heroines of “Chłopek” come to tell what was hitherto silenced, to remind of themselves. Their stories are complemented by live traditional folk songs — ambiguous and unobvious — far from the idyllic picture of the Polish countryside.

“Boys” is not just a record of a difficult past. The show reminds us that the experiences of a few generations ago continue to pulsate — in our identity, in family memories, in the silent legacy passed down from generation to generation.

The Book of Boys. The story of our grandmothers, the theatrical adaptation of which is the play, was published by Marginesy Publishing House.

The performance used recordings of memories of Helena Pluta — great-grandmother of the director of the play.