Family and Social Conflict in Tango by Sławomir Mrożek and its Production on the Stage of the Slovak National Theatre
Family and Social Conflict in Tango by Sławomir Mrożek and its Production on the Stage of the Slovak National Theatre

Summary/Abstract: The study analyses the text of Tango by Sławomir Mrożek. It maps out the author’s shift from grotesques to dramatic text, in which he prophetically predicts the future of Polish and Central European societies. His capacity to reflect on actual reality, to make it unique and to derive from it the absurdity of the situation is not only a peculiar feature of the author but it also is characteristic of the East European style. The study also analyses social and family aspects of the play and their portrayal in the productions of the Slovak National Theatre (SND; 1967, 1997). Tango was performed on Slovak stages under different political regimes, which have markedly affected the concepts of individual directors. Despite the fact that it is not primarily a politically focused theatre play, it reflects upon the quintessential questions of the period having no straightforward answers. The study focuses on the naming of thematic lines, especially those that relate to social and family aspects which are most prominent in the concept of the play and to their transformation to stage form.

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