Marius Ivaškevičius’ striking play, already shown in several countries and here featured in Agnieszka Lubomira Piotrowska’s marvelous translation, is a powerful and provocatively grotesque comedy with elements of a gore aesthetic, about the escalation of evil in today’s world, a cycle of violence no one intends to break, intolerance, the rejection of a laughable political correctness, and a lack of empathy and principles. It is also about cowardice and heroism, and the utter inability to reach an understanding. The mysterious herpes virus, the secret weapon of all evil, breeds easily in this soil. “Imagine, they sit there in man’s nervous system, lurking – they are hungry, they’ve nothing to feed on. (…) They are waiting for the sign, when a cold or some other virus attacks and then the whole immunological system leaps into the fray. Then herpes steps in. It gives the signal and the warriors move in to settle history – that whole deep-down army walks in the footsteps of its grandparents and great-grandparents,” explains Masara, the alluring incarnation of evil. Because evil is sexy, evil is adrenaline. It sells brilliantly on the Internet, as the play shows with ironic literalness. This is why it is simplest to respond to evil with evil, prop some slogans up on flagpoles and leap for the enemy’s jugular. Goodness plays fair, it is weak, ineffective, and boring – it has no chance: Would anyone today really consider turning the other cheek? Is there even a grain of hope in the finale? This is a question for the viewers to answer…

The actors gave the performance a chance because they believed in the drama and its message. They went very deep into the macabre world of ‘Masara’, and with no safety belts. (…) In an iconoclastic speech that expresses opinions held by much of Polish society, Radosław Krzyżowski is fantastic, recalling the old productions on Plac Szczepański. He also has some brilliant moments as Masara, the god of war cast down to Hell. Jacek Wakar, Onet Kultura