A STORY FOR LIFE AND DEATH

Based on the book by Wojciech Tochman

Was she going to kill or just steal? Did she suffer a well-deserved punishment or did she sit too short? Since she committed a crime as a teenager, should she get a second chance? There are many questions provoked by the high-profile case of Monica O., the first woman sentenced to life imprisonment in the Third Republic of Poland.

Patryk Warchoł's play does not so much reconstruct the crime as it presents its subsequent layers: the motivations of “Wasp”, the atmosphere of the 90s, and above all the media theater, which co-created her image as a “monster”. Known for his socially engaged, multimedia performances, Warchol explores how the viewer looks and how the stream of media information shapes — and distorts — our emotions and judgments. On the wave of true crime fashion, the show wonders if we are still interested in justice.

A word from the director

Patryk Warchoł: First I read a book that shocked me — inadequate punishment for the crime committed. A brutal, media trial that leaves the defendant no chance. A stupid, thoughtless teenage crime that wiped out the lives of three high school graduates. But then I reached out to the online comments around Wojciech Tochman's “History for Death and Life” and it scared me even more. Aggressive comments, death wishes to convicts, calls for the reinstatement of the death penalty. Comments anno domini 2026. I saw a huge need for retaliation against the perpetrators of crimes. And then I thought: maybe just as Kieślowski dealt with the death penalty in the late 1980s, so today we should deal with life imprisonment? Life imprisonment is a death sentence divided into installments. A punishment that deprives a person of hope for any further, normal fate. I was impressed by the solid work of Tochman, who, through a specific history of the murder and its perpetrators, sheds light on this problem.Moreover, there are still many myths around the topic of punishment. For example, the belief that the more severe the penalties, the stronger the deterrent effect. And yet it is enough to look at the crime statistics in different countries and compare them with their legal systems to see that this dependence is not at all so obvious.In our performance, Monika during the trial says: “They killed her, so what? I am still alive.” This is a monstrous phrase, but very important to me. After all, in fact, this is the case: we will not restore life to a murdered person, no matter how severely we punish the perpetrator. But the perpetrator is still alive. And the question arises: what do we do with this life? If we respond with vengeance, violence, do we not become executioners ourselves? Also of interest to me is the widespread and ever-growing fascination with nonfiction and real crimes. In recent years, true crime has become one of the most popular genres — we listen to podcasts, watch TV series, read more murder stories. And there is some paradox in this. If these crimes are so terrible, if they cause such outrage in us, why do we want to hear about them so much? Why do we more often choose the story of a real murder than, let's put it, the beautiful, imaginary world of Olga Tokarchuk? What exactly attracts us to this violence?

Sensitive content: violence, sexual violence, blood, nudity, murder, alcoholism, profanity

Sensory stimuli: strobe, sharp light, interaction with the audience

Realization:

Director, screenplay: Patryk Warchoł Set design: Anna KolaneckaKostiumy, choreography: Grzegorz ŁabudaMusic: Nikodem SłomczyńskiVideo, light direction: Ewa Borowska

Cast:

OSA — Magda Biegańskajola — Anna SienickaJudge — Paweł PalcatPoliceman 1 — Paweł PalcatYogi — Mateusz KrzykPolice officer 2 — Mateusz KrzykProsecutor — Mateusz KrzykPigeon — Jakub Sierenberg PHOTOREPORTER — Jakub SierenbergPolice officer 3 — Jakub SierenbergOSY's mother — Gabriela FabianPsychologist — Gabriela FabianDirector — Gabriela FabianFather of OSA — Paweł WolakKrzysztof O. — Paweł WolakCleaning lady — Małgorzata Urbańska (participation in the video recording)

Inspector and Souffler: Jolanta Najińska

The premiere of the performance will open the series “Piekary — New Energy” co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund.