Wołłejko, Magdalena vel Meggie W. Wrightt

The Hypochondriacs’ Club

Author

Genre

Farce

Female cast

2

Male cast

5

Original language of the play

polski

Details

Independent continuation of „Something for the soul. "Coś dla ducha. The Hypochondriacs’ Club 2”

Original title

Klub hipochondryków

There is a common opinion that middle-aged men sometimes simply lose their minds. Looking at the behaviour of three friends: the distinguished homosexual Leo, a ladies' man Tom and Ken, who's going through various tribulations with his ex-wife, one can conclude that men in their prime come from a very extravagant planet.

The titular hypochondriacs meet to celebrate the birthday of one of them. One of their "entertainments" is to study the atlas of diseases. Each of them finds symptoms that are supposed to be fatal. Boasting who suffers more and who dies the fastest makes the atmosphere hotter. But the men's party turns into a night they will never forget. Ken's ex-wife, Pam, appears at the apartment door. Some time later, Pam's lover, a plastic surgeon named Vito, Ben, Leo's former partner, and young Gina, Tom's heavily pregnant lover and at the same time, the daughter of the possessive Vito, appear. The various mechanisms of qui pro quo, verbal and situational jokes, skillful gradation of the dramaturgy and skillfully woven sensational plot make this play a great, energetic farce, as evidenced by its presence in the repertoire of the Syrena Theatre for over a decade.

PRESS

"Three men who cannot accept the passing of time are trying to face a surprising reality. It's funny, it's engaging, it's supposed to be taken with a grain of salt. This performance evokes emotions, provokes laughter. Hello! Uncontrolled laughter attacks?! Mandibular tremor?! Diaphragm spasms? It must be the Hypochondriacs' Club."

- Katarzyna Hanna Binkiewicz, krytykat.wordpress.com

"The Hypochondriacs' Club" is a different proposition from most plays based on English sense humor. There, comedy manifests itself mainly in situational jokes, here ironic situations are supported by extensive, intelligent dialogues. These two factors complement each other perfectly and, combined with professional acting, ensure that the story of the characters' weakness will also be appreciated by the male part of the audience".

- Michał Janusz, Teatr dla Was

Wołłejko, Magdalena vel Meggie W. Wrightt

When writing for Television, Magdalena Wołłejko used the pseudonym Maciej Pisz, while on the theatrical posters she appears as the mysterious Englishwoman, Meggie W. Wrightt. The experience gained on stage and upbringing in a family with a rich acting tradition allowed the author to develop an incredible sensitivity to dialogue.

Theatre and film actress, author of plays, for many years associated with Warsaw theatres, specializing in comedy plays and farces (Kwadrat, Komedia, Na Woli Theatre/Dramatic Theatre, Capitol, Syrena). She comes from a family with long acting traditions. In 1978 she graduated from Warsaw's PWST and was hired by Edward Dziewoński at the Kwadrat Theatre, where she performed in several farces. She also played in several dozen feature films. She has worked with many directors, but created her best performances in Stanisław Różewicz's cinema and television pictures. In 1998 she wrote her first text The Third King, which was produced by Jan Kidawa-Błoński for the TVP1 television channel. At the same time, she established a literary collaboration with Gambit Production, for which she wrote over a dozen scripts for the TV series "Taksówka Jedynki". Since then she has been using her stage, comedy experience to write TV scripts, films, monologues, song lyrics and, above all, theatrical plays. In 2003 the cult comedy Klub Hipochondryków (Hypochondriacs' Club) premiered. In 2012, a book entitled The Merry Plays, or Hypochondriacs and the Abandoned - with lyrics and photos from her three comedies, staged in Warsaw and Sydney, was published.

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