SUSAN SONTAG

ABOUT

Susan Sontag is an original theatrical fantasy inspired by the life and work of one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century American culture. Rather than reconstructing the writer’s biography, the performance explores the tension between her public image and repressed private life: the need for autonomy, the desire for openness, hidden relationships, and the experience of loss during the AIDS epidemic.

The creative team constructs a theatrical photo story — an album of black-and-white images brought to life on stage by the cast. Each photograph becomes a starting point for a reflection on memory, posing, visibility, and the limits of what can be revealed about oneself and others. Biographical episodes from Sontag’s life — from New York’s bohemia and protests against the Vietnam War to Sarajevo — are set against questions that remain urgent today.

Rafał Ryterski’s music combines original compositions with transformations of existing music. Its central instrumentation is the string quartet — a reference to Beethoven’s late quartets, which Susan Sontag listened to in hospital in the final weeks of her life. The music shapes the rhythm of images, movement and memory, carrying the performance between the intimacy of private experience, camp excess and the collective energy of performance.

The production was created at the Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Olsztyn and premiered on 18 October 2024.