Hen on the back

Fred Apke THE HEN ON THE BACK (Das Huhn auf dem Ruecken) almost black comedy in 2 acts

An extremely successful combination of situational humor born of racial farce, brilliant dialogues and deep psychological knowledge about the alchemy of feelings between a woman and a man and their touching absence between husband and wife. A comedy that will move you and a tragedy that will make you laugh to tears.

A disappointed musician, left by his wife, taking the children, comforts a neighbor in a state of shock, who tells him that... she just killed her husband. A helpful neighbor will do anything to help the woman. He will even risk complicity in the crime. And here we are, from moment to moment, communicating with the closest couple under the sun, who have to solve a problem that goes far beyond good-neighborly relations. Mr. Bonsch will eventually believe that he has long been deathly in love with the title character and must save her from judgment. Mrs. Kobald desperately needs a new impulse in life, because she no longer wants to pretend to be dead, that is, to be the eponymous hen on her back... Taking care of roses and the role of a domestic hen next to her banker-husband causes a second “I” to live in her head.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bonsch is increasingly interested in the neighbor's body, which requires visual penetration to find signs of beating by an aggressive spouse, and when he does not find them, as a 100% man, he persuades the neighbor to fall down the stairs. The play in the theater spins, spins and rolls the streamers, and yet it is about the life of the “battered” Mrs. Kobald. Two neighbors, who didn't know anything about each other until an hour ago, spin the game's springs to the max...

text: Fred Apke translation: Marta Klubowicz director: Zbigniew Stryj scenography and costumes: Magdalena Wiluś

assistant director: Rafał Gajewski light direction: Marek Mroczkowski producer: Estera Sławińska-Dziurosz

inspector: Artur Wacławek

CAST: Mrs. Kobald: Katarzyna Hołub Mr. Bonsch: Jarosław Czarnecki Troupe: Rafał Gajewski

premiere: November 30, 2019 Small Stage of the Entertainment Theater duration: 120 minutes with a break

The copyright to the play is represented in Poland by the Agencja Dramatu i Teatru ADiT Elżbieta Manthey in Warsaw.

cinematography: Artur Wacławek