Performance “Willie at level 650"

On Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 18:00 we invite you to the performance of Wilijo at level 650 performed by the Theater for Adults. Tickets 45 zł/36 zł with Rybka are available at the box office of the cultural center or online sales.

“William at 650 level” screenplay by Marcin Melon, directed by Joanna Lorenc

The play tells the story of the longest underground strike, which lasted from 14 to 28 December 1981 in the Piast KWK on the news of the declaration of martial law, the consequences of which many local mining families suffered. The action takes place on two levels: underground in the mine and in the miners' houses on the surface. The actors, playing the typical miners of that time, fully conveyed the thoughts, fears, feelings, but also the frustrations that accompanied the strikers. The scene shows not only the emotions of the strikers themselves, but above all their families, who remained on the so-called mountain and waited for their fathers, husbands, brothers in the houses where Christmas Eve dinner is being prepared. The scenes and dialogues between the striking son and the father, who come from the Małopolska village, are touching; the dreamy scene of a father and daughter waiting for him and regretting that he does not return from the mine, and she fears that she may lose him, just as before in the mine she lost her husband and her father's child. The relationship between an old mother, waiting for her son on strike with her daughter-in-law, is also not without emotion, especially when she and her daughter and granddaughter sing a common carol to comfort and encourage each other. Witek's story about internees jumping from windows is frightening, the conversation of a miner with a woman substituted by the UB, pretending to be his wife, is gripped by the throat... and all this with poignant music, affecting the emotions of the spectators. The show is based on facts, miners' accounts written in historical documents and available in the IPN archive, the original words of the appeals of the regime leaders of those years and the indictment of miners and trade unionists are also used. If we add to this the space of events happening on earth, the crying of women, wives, mothers, the questions of children left without fathers — then it is difficult to pass by this spectacle indifferent. In addition, the awareness that these events took place during the Christmas holidays touches the viewer's senses even more.

A smart, fact-based performance that perfectly captures the atmosphere prevailing in mines, including contemporary ones.

Performance by the Theatre for Adults in Bieruń. More information on the website of the Adult Theatre Foundation.