Tango (play)

Tango is a drama written by Polish writer, dramatist and cartoonist Sławomir Mrożek (1930–2013). It was first published in the literary magazine Dialog (Dialogue) in 1964. In Poland, Tango was staged for the first time in Bydgoszcz in 1965. The drama has been translated into English, Italian, Japanese, French, Danish, Hebrew, Czech, Slovenian, Dutch, Estonian, German, Spanish and other languages.^[1][2]

Plot

The play is set in a non-defined time in the home of Stomil and Eleonora, parents of Artur (student of medicine). The place is disorganized not only in the way it is furnished, but also through the complete lack of house rules and common values. Everyone can do whatever they want. In addition, many unneeded objects like baby carriage, old wedding dress, catafalque after Artur grandfather's death, can be found in there. It seems that "perplexity" may be the word that describes their lives best. Despite that Artur’s attempts are bound to fail, he tries to make rules and grant some things meaning. Artur tries to coax his grandmother to use catafalque, revolts against his father slovenliness and his mother’s double standard of morality. He himself wants to have a traditional wedding, however he fails.^[1] Artur when organising reception forgets about declaration of his feelings toward fiancee, so she thinks he’s indifferent and, in consequence, she claims she has an affair with Edek. Furthermore, his grandmother dies, and Artur is killed by Edek. Drama ends with tango that symbolizes simple, primitive, mass culture, which means those "values" won. Edek announces that he takes control over place and everyone has to follow his rules from now on.^[3]

"Tango" tells the story about generation gap in contemporary society and how conformity, anarchy, entropy and formalism come into conflict between generations. It tries to focus on finding the answer whether there is any space for an intellectual in such community.^[4]

Characters

• Artur – Stomil and Eleonora’s son
• Ala – Artur’s cousin and fiancée
• Edek – "a man with a moustache", Eleonora’s lover, regular visitor to Stomil family house
• Eugeniusz – Artur’s uncle and Eugenia’s brother
• Eugenia – Artur’s grandmother
• Eleonora – Artur’s mother
• Stomil – Artur’s father

References