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Łódź theatre celebrates 20 years of ‘Shear Madness’ on stage

20.07.2019 07:30
A performance of a play called “Shear Madness” at the Powszechny Theatre in the central Polish city of Łódź on Friday marked the 20th anniversary of its premiere.
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It was the 1,169th performance of what is the longest-running non-musical play in world theatre history.

The production has been playing to full houses, attracting a total audience of more than 400,000. It is directed by Marcin Sławiński.

Written by the German playwright Paul Portner (1925-1984) under the title “Scherenschnitt”, it was adapted as “Shear Madness” by Americans Marilyn Abrams and Bruce Jordan, who acquired the rights for the play. It was premiered in the United States 40 years ago.

The play is performed in Poland under the title “Szalone nożyczki” (Crazy Scissors).

It is set in a hair salon. A woman who lives above the salon is murdered and the audience is involved in solving the murder mystery.

The ending of the play is different every night as members of the audience hear clues and vote on who they think is guilty.

In addition to Łódź, “Shear Madness” has been produced in several other Polish cities.

(mk/pk)