Full seriousness. Comedy for people without a sense of humor

The modern version of the classic English comedy moves away from Wilde's social satire towards a contemporary tale of young people immersed in social conventions and seeking the truth about themselves, also through the exploration of their own “alternative identities”. The central theme here is the human duality — between the ideal, usually unrealistic self-image and the crooked mirror of social expectations and the need for self-creation. The main characters are people from the elite, however, oppressed by a sense of boredom, hopelessness and meaninglessness.

The language of Wilde, modernized in translation, contrasts with an epoch-making but formally processed aesthetic. As the director said: “Using Wilde's characteristic campy, we will play with the era, we will distort it, placing the action outside of time, in a world of infinite possibilities, in which words and gestures have lost their weight.”

FULL SERIOUSNESS. COMEDY FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT A SENSE OF HUMOR

(orig. The Importance of Being Earnest)

Premiere TVP1 21.10.2024

Text: Oscar Wilde

Translation: Maciej Stroiński

Directed by: Tadeusz Kabicz

Set design: Ewa Gdowok

Costumes: Dorota Roqueplo

Cinematography: Jakub Stolecki

Music: Szymon Sutor

Editing: Jakub Motylewski

Tadeusz Kabicz

(born 1993 in Warsaw)

Director, screenwriter and playwright. Graduated in Directing at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice and the Wajda School. He studied Polish philology and knowledge of culture at the University of Warsaw. He has collaborated with, among others, the Żeromski Theatre in Kielce, the New Theatre in Łódź, the Studio Theatre in Warsaw, the Municipal Theatre in Gliwice and musical theatres in Poznań, Łódź, Szczecin and Warsaw. Since 2024, director of the Polish Radio Theatre. At the Festival “Dwa Teatry” he twice received an award for the script of the radio adaptation of the radio plays “Króki” and “My body”. At the Television Theater he made his debut in 2025 with the play “Full seriousness. A comedy for people without a sense of humor” by Oscar Wilde.

Full program and more information about the festival: https://festiwal-interpretacje.pl/

The performances of the Television Theater are organized as part of the 23rd National Festival of Directing Arts INTERPRETATIONS, organized by the St. Wyspiański Silesian Theater in Katowice, the City of Katowice and Katowice City of Gardens — Krystyna Bochenek Institute of Culture.