‘The Kingdom’

“The Kingdom” is the latest theater production by the pre-DP2 classes, directed by Natalia Sołtysik. The play is an adaptation of “The Animal Kingdom” by Nolte Declar.

“The Kingdom” depicts the everyday summer lives of teenagers, woven from peer relationships, interactions with adults, and unsettling news from the outside world. The characters experience romantic dilemmas, unrequited crushes, and rebellion against their parents’ generation—all while rollerblading, biking, playing badminton, playing cards, or performing in a band, as well as while driving or lying on the beach.  Over time, the teenagers’ world becomes more extreme: one of the characters steals from his friends with impunity; the twins steal a chinchilla from a friend and release it into the forest; the teenagers experiment with drugs and play spin the bottle. Despite the summer, the present becomes increasingly complicated, and a portrait of Hitler emerges from the past, preserved in a golden frame in the home of one of the characters’ beloved, late grandmother. The destruction of the painting raises ecological and metaphysical dilemmas. Do the remnants of contaminated matter, carried by water, not seep into the world unnoticed? Meanwhile, one of the female characters is writing an essay about the war in distant Palestine when an armored vehicle crashes into a school building and damages it. Ultimately, the author of the essay concludes that the only answer is Love.

The actors and the director gave it their all! The excellent acting, interesting set design, and perfectly executed sound effects prompted the audience to give the performers a standing ovation.

(text: Beata Ciacek, translated with DeepL.com; zdjęcia: Beata Ciacek)