One man show, a mirror of everything I/we hate

He has trouble getting up in the Morning and getting to sleep in the evening. He has simply lost his will to live. A neurotic, a sceptic, a romantic. Beaten by life, everyday reality, but especially by himself and his inability to move from the place. Peter Čižmár as the performer of a broken teacher, in the play I hate.

People on public transport get on his nerves, a broken pencil-lead can throw him into a rage and he experiences it all divided, anxiously moving from tears to anger. Somewhere deep down he longs for ideals, which he knows in advance that he will never achieve. All of us have been in his shoes at one time or another. Complaining about a “bad” day, about the country where nothing works, about the system set up to squeeze a man dry and kick him away. Chekhov’s laughter through tears is a timeless concept.

The adaptation of the play by Polish author Marek Koterski attracted an audience of about fifty into the Historic Town Hall. Some had been looking forward to the play in advance, others came in by accident: „We had some time this afternoon and during the weekend we wanted to go to the theatre. We came now and it was worth it, we liked it. It was funny, but not superficial, it had an idea,” said a young visitor.

In the tragicomic play it was possible to gently portray negative Slovak stereotypes. The humble set, one actor and appropriate use of vulgarisms were sufficient means of expressing the unending frustration with the world around.

The audience rewarded the actor not only with applause at the end, but they were not shy to interrupt during the play to show agreement with his portrayal to give confirmation through their live feedback. From the audience a little boy could be heard repeatedly asking the question: “Why is the man angry?”

Little boy, I’m sorry to say that one day, you’re going to find out.