Bold political satire double-bill
Two razor-sharp political satire plays from the Soviet era, Charlie & Striptease, were written by the award-winning Polish playwright Sławomir Mrożek in the 1960s and 1970s, when Poland was formally part of the Soviet Union, and highlight his distinctive blend of absurdity and biting social commentary.
Through a series of hilarious and unsettling dramatic incidents, Mrożek draws back the curtain on the machinery of a paranoid political system, exposing the fear and suspicion that thrive beneath it. At the heart of both works is a theme that remains disturbingly resonant in today’s political climate, exploring the uncertainty, mistrust, and quiet coercion that shape life under surveillance.
In Charlie, an optician is drawn into a disturbing encounter when an old man and his grandson arrive intent on killing a man named Charlie. How would you know Charlie if you saw him? And why is he being hunted? In Striptease, two strangers find themselves unexpectedly in a strange room, dictated to by a mysterious “hand” which requires them to divest items of clothing. Both plays are brilliant satires on authoritarian states set to a backdrop of quirky events and deadpan comedy.
Produced by DRH Arts and Orsolya Nagy, Charlie and Striptease bring together two Eastern European plays from the Soviet era that speak powerfully to the present political landscape, layering sharp comedy onto events that are outrageous, yet all too plausible. Orsolya Nagy, a Hungarian national living in London, was inspired to produce the plays whilst developing a PhD research project on Eastern European absurdist theatre, which led to successful pilot performances of Striptease at Birmingham Theatre Festival 2025.
Producer and actor, Rowland D. Hill, comments, “These plays, written in the 1960s, are so relevant today as they explore state-authorised oppression and victimisation of the individual. But they are tear-jerkingly funny! Even in translation, Mrozek’s wit and humour remain peerless, giving us riotous comedy that is also thought-provoking in a time when authoritarianism is on the rise across the Western world and innocent citizens can be shot on the streets of America by legalised state militia.”
Director Orsolya Nagy comments, “The Theatre of the Absurd in East-Central Europe carried a critical political statement and reflected on the absurdity of life in the communist era. Living in London but originally coming from an ex-communist country, I am very interested to see what happens when these plays are out of context, staged in the 21st century in the UK. Can these plays deliver the experience of the absurd that is relatable today? I believe so, and my aim as a director is to take the audience on this emotional, strange journey where they recognise the absurdity of our current times and can laugh at it.”
Cast: Occulist / Man 1 Rowland D. Hill; Grandson / Man 2 Simon Brandon; Grandfather / Hand 1 Kenneth Michaels; Hand 2 Orsolya Nagy.
Golden Goose Theatre, 146 Camberwell New Rd, London SE5 0RR.
Tuesday 21st April – Saturday 9th May 2026.
Booking and full details: www.goldengoosetheatre.co.uk
