''Vatzlav'' is a play by Polish dramatist and writer Slawomir Mrozek. It was written between 1968 and 1969 and has 77 scenes. It has been widely produced with productions at the

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, off Broadway, and the

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. ''

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'' writer

Mel Gussow Melvyn Hayes "Mel" Gussow (; December 19, 1933 – April 29, 2005) was an American theater critic, movie critic, and author who wrote for ''The New York Times'' for 35 years. Biography Gussow was born in New York City and grew up in Rockville ...

called it "a three-ring circus of a comedy, cataloguing the injustices - and the sheer craziness - of civilization". Vatzlav is a comedic farce that turns political at every stage. A family has a grown son who wears diapers and is a bear. Oedipus Rex is an old blind man and the protector of all things right. A Genius has a daughter called Justice, who must be 'revealed' to the world. And there's Vatzlav himself, stuck on the island with them. One of the most talked about stage performances of ''Vatzlav'' was created in Teatr Wybrzeze,

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

(1982) during the times when the play was banned in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Actors were interned, and after their release they wore masks on stage.

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was imposed in theaters. A

born actress and activist

Beata Pozniak Beata or Beate is a female given name that occurs in several cultures and languages, including Italian, German, Polish, and Swedish, and which is derived from the Latin ''beatus'', meaning "blessed".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Beate" Retriev ...

played Justine, a character that symbolized

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

. These performances had hope and reflected the times people lived in.

References

* ''Theatre In the Raw Society presents Vatzlav by Slawomir Mrozek''

* https://www.huffpost.com/entry/world-theatre-day_b_9548710 Polish plays {{Poland-stub