Cezary – a director and partner of Norbert who died in tragic circumstances – returns to the stage in order to reconstruct his solo play. “I’M FINE- a solo-show filled with somewhat jolly songs and a single sad one” – such was the title of the personal, humorous story in which Norbert would so lightly and wittily talk about himself, life and everyday problems.
After Norbert’s death, the title became bitter. The jokes and comedic form concealed unspoken difficulties and suffering.
It also stands for Cezary’s struggle with loss and longing. Humor is mixed with pain, laughter with silence, while the spectacle becomes an expression of mourning, the space for memory and love, as well as celebration of life and creativity.
According to statistics, on an annual basis, more people commit suicide than die in road accidents. 80 percent of them are men. If we consider suicide as the consequence of a fatal disease – just like many other possible types of death because of other fatal diseases – we realize that the tragedy of people who commit suicide is not just a private matter but a social responsibility. We divide causes of death to better and more tragic ones. As a result, some types of deadly hazards are more hidden from the society than other.
As with all other exclusions and marginalizations, the reasons are mainly political.
We must no longer treat aid to people struggling with suicidal ideation as a personal matter but as a social responsibility. In order to achieve this, wen need to better understand the ways in which suicide functions in our culture and what has led to it. Then, we will be able to change the social understanding to treat those exposed to suicidal risk fairly, just like in the case of people suffering from other fatal diseases.
The private viewing of Norbert Bajan’s play titled “I’M FINE- a solo-show filled with somewhat jolly songs and a single sad one” took place on 30 June 2023 at Resort Komedii in Warsaw.
In connection with the premiere of the play, STUDIO cooperates with Halszka Witkowska, PhD. – a suicidology specialist, crisis consultant, vice-president of the Polish Suicidology Association, expert at the Office for Prevention of Suicidal Behaviors of the Psychiatry and Neurology Institute in Warsaw, the initiator and coordinator of the first Polish educational and assistance website for people in suicidal crisis and their relatives – www.zwjr.pl
