Kaczorowski, Tomasz

#darkness by Tomasz Kaczorowski is an ambitious and attractive travesty of Joseph Conard’s Heart of Darkness, embedded in corporate culture and told in the language of social media displayed on smarthpones; the language of brief text messages, instant questions and instant answers. Kaczorowski found a unique narrative formula and style for his play, reflected in its distinctive structure, which reminds us of programming language, text from chatrooms and instant messengers etc.). It is worth noting that the target group of #darkness mostly consists of young people (teenagers and young white collar workers), which is why Kaczorowski tries to communicate with his peers in their own language. It is vital to define who may stand for “Kurtz” and “Marlow” figures in the modern world, but readers are free to imagine. #darkness is an invitation to critical thinking, a fascinating intellectual exercise already done by the author, so now the time has come for readers to do the same.

− Jacek Wakar, introductory essay to Polska jest mitem. Nowe dramaty anthology

You hold a smartphone. And inside this device there are text messages, Facebook, Instagram. It’s hard to imagine life without it. There are about 16 milligrams of copper in an average smartphone model. And where can you find copper? Mainly in Chile. More and more smartphones are needed, so more and more mines are opened. Let’s take another look: there is cobalt in a phone’s battery, its main source are the mines located in Congo. The heart of darkness is closer than you think…
Hearts of darkness are the real places on Earth: anywhere civil wars and exploitation of natural resources take place. #darkness is an attempt to reflect upon our indifference and responsibility for contemporary world, and also a chance to rethink Conrad’s novel.

− from promotional materials of the Horzyca Theatre in Toruń

Andżela works in Ikea and dreams about going to Sweden. In a chat room she establishes a relationship with Lars and decides to go to him. She doesn't know that there may be danger waiting for her in Ikea's land. Mint Boy, a guy from Grodzisk, is already there, but is that what he really dreamed about? Sven, a journalist, is writing a story about neo-Nazis. They all meet at the Ultima nightclub in Malmö, where a terrorist attack occurs. Their meeting is observed by a demonic figure who manipulates their statements and what and who, and in what media format we listen to at the moment. Did any of them survive the attack?

Trollgatan... is a painfully current play - especially in the face of the recent events in Orlando - about media manipulation and dreams that collide with crises threatening to break up the European community.

The shark Pol lived for almost four hundred years in the dark ocean depths until it confronted the largest predator on the planet, a human being. Pol is no longer whole, his story is told by individual parts of the fish body: fins, jaws, torso, creating, as the author writes, "a musical reconstruction in several scenes for drums and bass guitar". ('maybe even eco drama'). Kaczorowski juxtaposes the ancient wisdom of nature with human expansionism, without avoiding pop-cultural references. The leitmotiv of the play is the iconic theme from the film Jaws. But the parts that used to make up Pol's body do not understand the human world. His home was a silent, dark, unfathomable depth; the mystery of nature:

"1: underneath
2: was the same darkness
3: darkness
2: all-encompassing
4: all-embracing
3: all-mighty
1: altogether pulling in
2: for people
4: dangerous
3: because apart from the pressure change
1: nothing signals
4: where
2: is
3: the bottom
1: and where
4: is
3: the surface [...]"

Pol questions the stereotype of a bloodthirsty man-eater. The shark's purpose is to explore quiet, cold depths. The first interest in the presence of man leads to the animal's perdition. The man who murders Pol does not need meat or fish fat to survive. It is only a test of strength for him:

"I ate it. Not all of it. I tried it. But he was bitter. Tough. He was dry. I had to try what cost me so much effort. I looked death in the eye."

He does not know that a shark, unprovoked, does not want to attack two-legged creatures.

Kaczorowski's musical eco-drama offers great staging possibilities: the author anticipates the presence of musical instruments and a video camera. The important theme and artistic form make it possible for the play to be addressed both to adults and teenagers.