non-male

Unmanly, what is it? Feminine, feminine, weak, tearful, soft, cowardly, unfree, effeminate, inflated? Or maybe even differently? Maybe just liberated from poses and fears, free from the compulsion of competing and straining muscles, freed from culturally imposed behaviors that you may enjoy on screen, but in life...? Non-male, that is, one who makes up his own mind. Non-man, that is, he who does not benefit from the privileges granted to him, it is not known by whom. A non-man, that is, one who says what he feels, does not always have to win, because his life is not a contest, a match or a race. This is difficult to understand for the protagonists of the show — four men on a bend and under pressure, but it must be admitted that they try very hard and the filmmakers try to convince them that “unmanly” is not an insult, but a compliment.

The twisted stories of the protagonists confront the cultural breakdown of the system, and “unmanly” is utopian speculation about its state. In scenes in humorous and dreamlike convention, men are given soft competencies, usually attributed to women. Lost heroes with complexes are trying to find themselves in a new reality still on the border between waking and dreaming. The “non-man” will also help us to get used to the fears, fears and fears caused by the declining patriarchy.

From (...) shots of “masculinity”, this model, viewers are led towards all “non-masculine” behaviors that deviate from this idea. Narrowing down the vision of masculinity and operating a review of fears and nightmares is a necessary treatment (...). In my opinion, completely ignoring the possible situations in which this man would feel confident and comfortable, full of strength, even when he loses, in this performance is extremely successful. According to the title, focusing on the threads of weakness, helplessness of a sensitive human being, taken into the body of a man, we can easily notice a number of different features in this image of man, which we usually observe in our environment. The author of the script developed in an interesting way a vision of the emotionality of men, in my opinion accurate, although naturally taken in a certain bracket of irony and comism (...).

Mateusz Leon Rychlak, Theatre for All

What role do stereotypes play in our lives? Do they put the world in order, or do they make it difficult for us to find ourselves in it? How strong is the stereotype of masculinity in us? These dilemmas became the starting point for the creation of the spectacle. “The question is, what was once masculine and what is masculine today? It seems to me that this definition has completely redefined itself and so for good reason we use old, established schemes and stereotypes, and we do not know what masculinity is,” says the author. - It is she - a woman - wrote the text, although it might seem that such problems do not concern her...

Marlena Chudzio, Radio RMF

The play takes part in the 30th National Competition for the Exhibition of Polish Contemporary Art.

The license for the use of illustrative music, choreography and musical illustration was granted by the Association of Authors ZAiKS.