Theatre play “When the Snow Melts”, directed by Katarzyna Minkowska, in National Theatre in Brno

For the purposes of the spectacle, director Katarzyna Minkowska and dramatist Tomasz Walesiak have created an original script – a portrait of a family in a multi-generational crisis.

It is a tale about decisions that are impossible to be understood. About a family, whom to forgive is the hardest, and about the need for acceptance inscribed in family relations. About how pathetic we are in situations that overwhelm us, and about how much we are able to bear before we decide for a change. And about daring deeds that are sometimes perceived as cowardly, depending on who is looking and why they want to label them.

A tragedy forces family members to meet at a parental home. For ones, it marks a difficult return after long absence, others are stuck in this place for decades. How to talk about things that cannot be accepted? How to establish contact with a person who is theoretically dear to you, but you know about them so little? Coping with the situation, the characters bring to life more and more narrations related to it. They revert into the past and interfere with the webs of own memories. They place new layers of dreams and fantasies on the reality that is so hard to bear. Fear, fairytales, video games, and religion act as a fuel for their hopes and nightmares. Their internal worlds blend with one another, forming a whirlpool of imaginings. Are you going to take a risk and let it carry you away to get to know the answers to questions “who are you”, “what has shaped you” and “why do you fear so much”?

• Direction, script, stage design: Katarzyna Minkowska
• Script, dramaturgy: Tomasz Walesiak
• Stage design: Łukasz Mleczak
• Costumes: Jola Łobacz
• Video: Agata Rucińska
• Music: Wojciech Frycz
• Choreography: Krystyna Lama Szydłowska
• Light direction: Paulina Góral
• Live camera, photos and video: Janusz Szymański
• Assistant director: Wojciech Sobolewski
• Stage manager: Piotr Piotrowicz
• Executive producer: Aleksandra Szklarczyk
• Assistant composer: Maciej Synowiec