All for free

Adaptation of Walter Kempowski's novel, set in the winter of 1945 somewhere between Olsztyn and Elbląg. This is much more than a theatrical trip into the past. The strangeness of the protagonists, experiencing their small dramas at the center of a historical catastrophe, becomes in the play an opportunity to look at the mechanisms that resonate today: ignoring reality or collective responsibility. This disturbing tale of life in the shadow of war is also imbued with perverse humor. The show's designers, Weronika Szczawińska and Piotr Wawer jr are a creative duo developing an original artistic language. “All for free” in their shot becomes a visually surprising combination of epic pomp and conviviality, a kind of domestic apocalypse.

The book was published in Polish in 2023 and immediately became a bestseller. The German writer gave in his most important novel the most complete picture of the end of the German world in East Prussia, described the mechanism of fascism, while citing German classics.

There is no better place to exhibit “Everything for Free” than the Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Olsztyn — the former town of Allenstein, so close to the fictional Georgenhof manor.