What if camera operators from the TV studio, not the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, were the heralds of the Last Judgement? And what if the TV show host replaced archangels?Or if we got blinded by the spotlights, not by the mighty lightnings?
Until the Very End is an ironic, slightly profetic play, combining realistic and poetic features. There are two mothers without their offspring: a son, who is lost and a son, who comitted suicide. There is a doctor who discovers his future by accident, and a bored, jaded psychologist. And they all talk. They talk and talk, encouraged by the Host: “Speak, it will help you”. Their stories seem to connect with each other more and more clearly. Characters confess their secrets, though their public confessions are shallow and superficial. Exhibitionism, such popular on TV, deprives them of dignity.
There is also a choir, resembling an antique one, but with a very modern touch. It comments characters’ deeds in an ironical manner. This is the moment before the Last Judgement. People confess their sins not only to the highest majesty, but also to themselves. In a moment the Judge will come in – he will anounce the verdict of “Stairs behind the Glass” TV Show. Will the contestants go up or down? But, contrary to expectations, the Judge will never show up. He is like theBeckettian Godot – always silent and distant.
Zdunik points out the tackiness of suffering depicted in the media. In this particular case, the suffering does not make one seem dignified – since itis bland or sometimes ridiculous. Until the Very End mocks ubiquitous emotional exhibitionism. What will happen if the most important Viewer doesn’t show up? Well, there is a long line of participants, waiting to reveal their uttermost secrets…