DEATH OF THE SQUIRREL-MAN

text: Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk,

directing: Robert Traczyk

set design: Marta Czujowska

music: Dawid Dorożyński

Cast: Mateusz Brodowski, Patrycja Bukowczan, Joanna Małaszkiewicz, Michał Rybak

Production PPA; Joanna Zabuska

The RAF, like Ernesto Che Guevara, has permanently blended into the image of global pop culture. A photo of a dead Andreas Baader, lying in a pool of blood after a suicide, can be seen on T-shirts. The photograph is stylized after Andy Warhol's paintings.
The RAF star was printed on mugs, caps and backpacks. The revolutionaries became a pop-culture symbol.

Although the group's action has not produced tangible, political results, it is undeniable that, like the legend of Robin Hood, it fills a cultural niche. It responds to the need for a righteous protector who takes from the rich and gives to the poor. The figure of the noble villain has always worked on the mass imagination.

It is interesting to note that just a decade later, after popular youth magazines printed sessions styled after RAF members, the same function is being taken over by openly right-wing and nationalist groups. Today they are the ones adorning youth T-shirts, mugs and socks.

Why is the revolutionary myth so fascinating?
Why do we have a special fondness for those who die tragically?
Why are the methods of individual terror sometimes appealing to their potential victims as well?

Is it worth dying for the cause?

The performance is a punk-opera with the participation of actors and puppets. The whole thing is set in a post-industrial aesthetic. The show is complemented by the lyrics of the legendary punk band Post-Regiment, performed by live musicians, woven into the course of the performance.

The play won the top prize at the Entree festival in Chorzow.