Rehearsals for „A Troubled Nursing Home” by Michał Buszewicz, directed by Tomasz Man, have just begun

 On Wednesday, 1 July, we started rehearsals for „A Troubled Nursing Home” („Dom niespokojnej starości”), a play by Michał Buszewicz, directed by Tomasz Man. This is a play that breaks another deeply rooted societal stereotype and taboo: the subject of aging. – We do not grow old because of the years that pass – we grow old because we stop being curious about the world. Michał Buszewicz has written a very important text about the affirmation of life and about people who take their dreams and their affairs into their own hands – Ewa Pilawska, director of Powszechny Theatre, notices.

In „A Troubled Nursing Home” everything starts with the idea of cohousing, which is the shared living of older adults who consciously decide to live under one roof. One of the female characters makes a list of people „she can stand until death”, calls them and invites them to form a community—a modern-day commune. A group of friends, united by hippie experiences from their youth, decide to live together – in harmony with themselves, their passions and their dreams.

The text also brings us face to face with the passing and the needs of the elderly. In the Buszewicz’s play the thought of passing away—which inevitably concerns us all, regardless of age—is an inescapable backdrop to the shared lives of this group of friends. In „A Troubled Nursing Home” it is being tamed and becoming a part of everyday life, stripped of pathos and fear. The topic of the physical body of older adults—often tabooed by contemporary culture, which obsessively chases the ideal body under increasing pressure from disturbing and surrounding images —is also being tamed.

- „A Troubled Nursing Home” is a very important step towards understanding and coming to terms with the change that is taking place in our society and our mentality. Buszewicz sketches the portraits of independent, courageous individuals full of zest for life with detachment, sensitivity and courage, in an intelligent and witty manner. Their „distinguishing feature” is not age, but a passion for life. We are exploring the same theme on stage that was brilliantly depicted in a hit Netflix series „Grace And Frankie”.  The characters in the play by Michał Buszewicz do not shy away from their age; they are aware of it and build their lives with this awareness. They consciously find happiness and fulfillment – Ewa Pilawska emphasizes. 

Rehearsals for „A Troubled Nursing Home” began on 1 July. We invite you to the first presentation of the play in the new season – in November 2026.  

Michał Buszewicz
„A Troubled Nursing Home” („Dom niespokojnej starości”)
Directed by Tomasz Man

Music arrangement: Tomasz Man
Stage design: Anetta Piekarska-Man
Choreography: Artur Dobrzański
Video projections: Zuzanna Piekarska-Opara
Cast: Monika Kępka, Diana Krupa, Ewa Sonnenburg, Magdalena Zając-Zawadzka, Beata Ziejka, Sebastian Jasnoch, Jakub Kryształ, Piotr Lauks, Artur Majewski, Adam Marjański