A Very Long and Slow Disaster of Tram No. 26

About the performance

People are riding the tram. To work. Or from work. Or from one job to another. Or maybe they are actually at work. But what if they never make it to where they are headed?

A tram crash forces them into an unexpected break that lasts surprisingly long.

A food delivery rider (Filip Zaręba), kept on a tight leash by his app, desperately tries to make it to his next assignment, accompanied by a chorus of bicycle gears. Project-based worker Mariusz (Michał Jan Meller) races against a deadline to secure his next job and break free from an endless chain of “ifs.” Because if he gets the job, he will achieve stability, and if he achieves stability, he will be able to get a dog. A hypochondriac (Aleksandra Popławska) rushes to a child left unattended… and to the pharmacy, determined to protect her loved ones from disaster. A woman without a phone (Izabella Dudziak) searches for her lost smartphone, but also for the life that disappeared along with her corporate calendar. She is accompanied by a mysterious clown (Filip Zaręba) – dealer, jester and philosopher all in one. He leads her through memories, false leads and uncomfortable discoveries, while knowing the rules of capitalism better than any circus trick. Overseeing the entire journey is the Driver (Mirosław Zbrojewicz) – narrator and guide who takes the audience through the passengers’ stories, shifting roles and perspectives along the way.

Directed by Julia Nowak, the performance is a polyphonic narrative about work in an age of relentless productivity – about its pressures, pace and instability. About project-based workers, care and emotional labour, and the precarisation of both professional and non-professional life (if such a thing exists at all). The performance combines surreal humour and ironic lightness with existential weight.

Creators

written and directed by: Julia Nowak
dramaturgy: Karolina Szczypek
choreography: Ana Kuszarecka
music: Maksymilian Zieliński
set and lighting design: Antonina Kalita
costume design: Zuzanna Bąk
assistant director: Alicja Zalewska
stage managers: Piotr Piotrowicz, Wojciech Sobolewski
production manager: Aleksandra Szklarczyk
photos: Adrian Lach
poster: Patryk Różycki