A play by Maria Wojtyszko premiered in the Czech Republic

"I am thirteen years old. My name is Sam. I mean, Samuel. My parents are intellectuals. They don't cook, they don't clean and they always go to demonstrations... " A play about the difficult period of growing up, when our model of coping with difficulties is shaped: lack of acceptance among peers, parental problems, loneliness and oppressive upbringing... The titular Samuel (Sam) experiences these problems on a daily basis, is unable to make friends, gets into conflicts with his peers, loses support in his parents who get involved in extramarital life and decide to divorce... Then there is the school and the class teacher, who grotesquely betrays his incompetence during a lesson on ‘upbringing for life in the family’... The boy has no one to talk to, he suppresses his emotions, his parents forget about the needs of their own child, and the world rushes mercilessly forward. .. And this is what the play is about - loneliness, which in the person of the main character defines the condition of our families.

Despite the serious themes she discusses, the author's own hyperbole, irony, wit and humour are inherent - the short sketch scenes of Sam's experiences are told in this play and production more like an entertaining sitcom (rather than a psychological drama).

Sam is an ordinary 13-year-old boy. He would like to make music and compose songs, he would like to have normal parents, a harmonious family and normal relationships with his classmates... He tells his life story, which includes his "crazy" parents, his troubled friend Přemek, his new classmate Viola who he likes, his "family education" teacher Mrs. Šulcová and even the hamster Sam talks to when he feels lonely and alone....

The play Sam or Education for Family Life was written in 2014 by renowned Polish playwright, dramaturge and director Maria Wojtyszko, and subsequently won the Grand Prix at the 20th All-Poland Contemporary Plays Competition. The translation of this play was created within the framework of the DILIA Translation Workshop and was staged as a staged reading by the LETÍ Theatre in 2020. You will see its first stage of SAM or Education for family life performance at the Horácké divadlo.

More info:

https://www.hdj.cz/inscenace/560-sam-aneb-vychova-k-rodinnemu-zivotu#o-inscenaci