Imagine a hostile, grey world emerging from the ruins of war – and within it a city drifting through the wreckage of one upheaval into the turbulence of a new political order. In the factory where you work, impossible production quotas define everyday life, while wages barely allow you to survive. You cannot afford clothes, food or a place to live. And there is no way out. At best, you are left with only a substitute for life.

Now imagine Franek, a survivor of the war thrown directly into this reality. Before the war he was a secondary school teacher, but as an opponent of the new political system he found no place for himself in post-war education. Today he is the one being taught hard physical labour at the factory machine. Franek does not resent it – in his eyes everyone should be equal. The architects of the new system make similar promises. But do they truly believe them? “Those at the bottom will always stay at the bottom,” his co-workers bitterly observe.

Franek had only one brother – Mietek.

Mietek is now a high-ranking party official. He believes in change. He cannot understand the workers’ growing dissatisfaction. How could anyone refuse to work for the common good? Franek sees things differently: he knows that power is not interested in building a better world, but in forcing workers to bend further and further so the system can extract more from them. The two brothers defend their opposing positions relentlessly.

The creators of Rebellion place this deeply personal family conflict against the backdrop of collective resistance to oppression. Inspired by the real experiences of a Poznań family, the story expands beyond the suffocating interiors of post-war apartments and spills out into the city itself.

And what would you do if hope disappeared? Would you lead a rebellion, or join the crowds demanding dignified living conditions? How would you react if you had nothing left to lose – when a government that promised to build begins destroying instead? When it was meant to protect, but starts shooting?

Although seventy years have passed since the events of Poznań June 1956, many of the wounds inflicted during those days remain open – in people’s memories, in family histories and in the identity of the city itself. While Rebellion is inspired by real events, it is difficult to escape the feeling that history has a tendency to repeat itself, more often as tragedy than farce.

The songs of Maanam woven into the performance comment on this reality, becoming witnesses to both collective and personal tragedies. Although the music of Marek Jackowski was written decades after the events of June 1956, its message and emotional charge remain strikingly relevant. Songs such as Falowanie i spadanie, Nocny Patrol, Bądź ostrożny, Smycz and Wyjątkowo zimny maj, all infused with unease, become the language of resistance for those who no longer wish to remain silent.

Rebellion always takes a bloody toll. Innocent people die – those who dared to demand bread. In Poznań, there were nearly sixty of them.

Rebellion bears their faces.
Rebellion carries their names.

The premiere of the musical performance Rebellion is sponsored by Modertrans Poznań Sp. z o.o., with Polish Radio Programme 1 serving as the media partner.