The Diagonal of the Madman

During his stay in Vence, Gombrowicz constantly stunned his critics, posing as an immature writer who rejected all forms - literary, political, and religious. Classified as a marginal writer, he considered himself a writer ... misunderstood. He liked to confuse his leads, play with criticism, and shock with his statements. One of his made-up stories made me wonder ...
In the second volume of "Diaries" (which was also reflected in my previous play "Waiting for the Nobel Prize"), Gombrowicz writes that he liked to say to Rita: "I also want to write a small text dedicated to my London" friends ". I want to make them mad. I will write that I have bought myself a wonderful villa and that I am the father of an illegitimate child! "

This illegitimate child became the starting point for "The Diagonal of the Madman" and "Meeting with Filidor" ...

It takes place in Vence in 1967, while Rita, his wife, is away for a month. The writer is at the end of his life. A seriously ill person can no longer physically move. With the help of his imagination, he goes beyond everyday life to plunge into his youth again and see old acquaintances who first come to life in a cafe, then in Argentina, in Tandil ...

In the play "The Diagonal of the Madman. Meeting with Filidor "there are three main characters: Witold Gombrowicz, a bartender with many faces, who will become Crazy and Filidor, and a saxophonist-drummer accompanying them. The saxophonist will set the pace, play the music of life, the writer's destiny, which ... can also become ours.
Ewa Kraska

Premiere on October 21, 2014 - during the 11th International Gombrowicz Festival