Can a sense of humor redeem drama?

“Can sense of humour redeem every drama?” is an ambiguous question. Its starting point is, of course, “The Life and Death of Mr. Hersh Libkin from Sacramento, CA”, a well-known play by Ishbel Szatrawska, which in Poland actually awakened or increased the popularity of the genre and gave rise to discussion about it. When talking about sense of humour one must define what it is, what genres there are, what it does to us and above all to drama, literature and art. After all, there may be black, gallows, national and Jewish humour… Are comedy-plays just a genre, or rather – a reflection of life? What are Szatrawska’s views on drama?

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Ishbel Szatrawska – playwright, writer. The author of “Free Shooter” (Instytut Teatralny) and “The Life and Death of Mr. Hersh Libkin from Sacramento, CA” (Wydawnictwo Cyranka), for which she received, among others, Paszporty Polityki award and Odkrycia Empiku Award and was awarded in the international EURODRAM competition. Her first novel will be published by Wydawnictwo Cyranka in September this year. Winner of Kraków UNESCO City of Literature Award. A long-standing activist and member of Kraków’s Jewish organizations.

Aga Kozak – podcaster, journalist. She works at the intersections of social projects, culture, psychology, education and development: she is curator of Kraków’s “Slow Saturdays” at Potocki’s Palace and is responsible for the lifestyle section of Kraków STORY. By education, she is a culture expert, film expert, media expert and an Americanist with no diploma. She studied at the Jagiellonian University, Middlesex University in London and NYU in New York. As a journalist, she writes articles and books (she has written for Gazeta Wyborcza and Gazeta.pl for years), she does interviews, she is the author and co-author of podcasts (she has recently co-hosted “Podcast Intymny” with Kamila Raczyńska, and “Sharing is caring” earlier). She earns a living by talking to people.

Fot. Emilia Krakówka