In his experimental film Stairs (1987) Zbigniew Rybczyński unexpectedly placed a group of American tourists in the middle of the famous Odessa Steps massacre scene from Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin. These tourists casually take photos and eat hamburgers amid the unfolding slaughter — remaining only detached observers of other people’s suffering. This subversive gesture became a starting point for reflecting on how violence is watched, consumed, and represented.
On stage, victims meet observers, historical images interpenetrate with contemporary perspectives, and monumental violence collides with the banality of the tourist experience. Building on Rybczyński’s concept, the production asks what happens to our compassion today when war becomes an image, an attraction, or a commodity. It examines the ways conflicts are shown in a world where wartime experiences have been capitalized and absorbed by popular culture.
Older discourses that domesticated the horror of war stop working, and the language for describing wartime trauma quickly runs out. After the initial shock comes indifference — audiences grow accustomed to images of violence that enter the mainstream. Stairs, Stairs, Stairs faces the challenge: how to “play war” on stage today? How to tell stories about contemporary armed conflicts so as to truly move the spectator, rather than provide another “attractive” image of violence to watch?
The text uses fragments of the following works:
The performance uses stage smoke and strobe effect (rapidly pulsating light). People sensitive to these kinds of effects are asked to exercise special caution.
⏱️ Running time of the performance: 1 h 50 minutes without intermission.
Direction and visual concept:
- Wojciech Faruga
Dramaturgy and musical arrangement:
- Maciej Jaszczyński
Script:
- Wojciech Faruga
- Maciej Jaszczyński
Assistant directors:
- Nela Maciejewska
- Olga Głowińska
Piano consultations:
- Ewa Bukała
Assistant lighting director:
- Helena Rakovich
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