Englishman Reacts to... Polish Kabaret Dudek - Kolejka

How does older kabarets stand up today?

Translations by: @Pan_Damjanek

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#kabaret #poland #comedy #kabaretdudek

[RobReacts]

If you are enjoying my reactions to all things Poland, make sure you go and watch out trips to Poland on our vlog channel Charlie & Rob and subscribe! We have vlogs from Gdansk, Kraków, Warszawa and Wrocław.

[MSStudio]

In the left queue are:
Irena Kwiatkowska (1912 - 2011) - one of the most popular Polish theater, film and cabaret actresses, and after her
Jerzy Czekałła - musician, guitarist, member of the music band in the Dudek cabaret
Anita Dymszówna (1944 - 1999) - theater and film actress
Wiesław Gołas (1930 - 2021), theater, film and cabaret actor, one of the most popular Polish actors in the 1960s and 1970s
Juliusz Borzym (1925 - 2010) musician, pianist, arranger, member of the music band in the Dudek cabaret

In the right queue are:
Jan Kobuszewski (1934 - 2019), theater and film actor, also a singer, one of the most popular comedy actors in Poland, followed by
Tadeusz Suchocki (1927 - 2015), musician, pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, musical director of the Dudek cabaret
Anna Seniuk (1942), one of the most outstanding Polish theater and film actresses, professor of theater art, long-time teacher at the Higher Theater School in Warsaw
Teresa Lipowska (1935), popular theater, film and television actress
Edward "Dudek" Dziewoński (1912 - 2002), actor, director, director of the Kwadrat theater in Warsaw, founder and head of the Dudek cabaret, the name of the cabaret comes from his nickname "Dudek (Hoopoe)"

In the role of an undecided customer -
Wiesław Michnikowski (1922 - 2017), an outstanding theater and film actor, also a singer

[Pan_Damjanek]

A very quick note- people that you see on the stage is pretty much the very creme de la creme of polish acting scene, that's what kabarets used to be, actors were doing films, theatres and comedy, for cheering people up in hard times. EDIT: Same with British actors in the 80s isn't it.

Regarding the jokes being relevant:

Although the communist time has ended in Poland, the basic shape of politics and people's mindset is largely the same. And we also love to queue for no reason. Once I went to a concert and was waiting for my friend in front of the building, door to the event still closed. Immediately people started queuing behind me. When my friend came, we just walked to the entrance, leaving 300 or so people in a phantom queue

[malkontentniepoprawny]

The speech was not just meaningless chatter, but it referred to communist ideology, At the end there is also an allusion to the illusion of choice that existed in the communist system.The shortage of goods meant that each queue immediately attracted people wanting to buy the scarce product. That's why they stand even though they don't know why, and more often than, in those times, it turned out that standing made no sense because there were far too few goods in the store to be enough for everyone.

[lalka]

Omg!Kwiatkowska, Michnikowski, Golas, Kobuszewski, Seniuk, Dziewoński! all legends!

[anuskas]

These are famous actors of that time. That's how it was in the times of the Polish People's Republic... For several years there was nothing in stores, or very little... As a child, I stood in such queues with my mother or grandmother. Sometimes people "borrowed" a child in a stroller or a disabled person in a wheelchair, because then there was priority 😂. When there was nothing in the stores, my grandmother, me and my brother stood there because someone said there was supposed to be a sugar delivery... 7 hours in the heat... we stood there and there was no sugar delivery...

[MBpnxnd]

A czy przypadkiem nie macie podobnych problemów z Partią Pracy i Partią Konserwatystów? 😁 Tego właśnie ten skecz dotyczy.

[mayaniebieska]

It works with the social and political context, the queues are a metaphor for different groups and political fractions, the characters are locked within a system of taking sides and trying to justify sticking to them, . It also reflects the polish character of arguing endlessly, whose truth is the better truth 😂
So you're right, this works well with reference to the PRL Poland, as well as contemporary context. And any historical era really.
Have you watched 1670 yet?

[tomaszrydzewski]

I like the fact that Rob constantly understand more how things were in Poland under russian occupation. This helps a lot to understand Polish people today - how decades under russian occupation changed our nation, but rebuilding now and only 30 years after people visiting Poland are amazed how Poland changed.

[d.d.]

The general meaning of these queues was the same as the communist system, i.e. none. The viewers knew exactly what this sketch was referring to.

[aleksandra]

O to mi jeszcze przypomniało, że jest fajna gra planszowa "kolejka" (cóż za oryginalna nazwa xD) w tematyce kolejek do sklepów w czasach PRL. Grałam parę razy i jest całkiem zabawna. Zwłaszcza karty jak np. "matka z dzieckiem" umożliwiająca przejście na początek kolejki, nawiązujące do zachowań osób (tak jak to, że były osoby, które pożyczały sobie małe dzieci). Celem jest zdobycie wymaganych produktów ze sklepu, a przy okazji wyrzucenie pozostałych graczy na sam koniec kolejki. Polecam!

[PAWUK-tztt]

This is not about the lines. This is a metaphorical show of the political conflict between communists and the anti-communist opposition during the times of censorship.

[AikidoVirtualDojo]

because there were not enough goods in the shops, whenever people heard about a potential deliverym they would form a queue. And sometimes for long queueing, when people had to leave to take care of other things or go to work, there were queue committees that would keep lists of people "standing" in the queue. This kinds of times, fortunately it's history

[fjenpmq]

It is an excellent idea to compare older and newer cabarets. I can only suggest checking the most modern and innovating forms like HRejterzy. See, for example, 'Dlaczego kawa w biurze jest za darmo.' or 'Kiedy kierownik tłumaczy grafikowi jak wykonać zadanie'. HRejterzy is a gem.

[aleksandra]

It's all metaphorical because they couldn't directly criticize communist authorities so that's why they did it in a more creative way. I think that it also can be relevant nowadays in Poland, as well as in other countries, where you have two parties that think they are different from each other, but in the end they are not

[magdalenaduras]

That was a different level of actors there. A first class. You wouldn't see corpsing there as they were too professional for it. Wonderful kabaret with simple yet thought provoking sketches... And well done for reading between the lines and seeing there was a link to the communism and life in those times despite not knowing as much about it as us, Poles.

[anaconda]

I remember when I was in the UK and I stood in line at the bus stop.
There were only two of us and a much older woman stood behind me.
When the bus arrived it was obvious to me that I should let this woman get on first. As we do in Poland (usually).
It was my first culture shock in the UK as the old lady categorically refused. She insisted that I had to get on the bus first because I was standing in front of her.

[agataryznar]

the "Dudek" cabaret and the "Tay" cabaret were the two best cabarets during communism. These people were able to "camouflage" the satire on the communist authorities in such a way that the common man understood what was going on and the communist authorities did not understand.

[yvonneb]

Without a metaphor is also vrery true. People fighted in the que, we ate the oranges and bananas only during Christmas. Till today if I smell the orange it is immediate memory about times of Christmas. I grew up during that time. I had no childhood at all

[piotrsodel]

Rob, you're wrong. Ridiculing this stupid reality caused the fall of socialism in Poland. When I went abroad, I felt strange in other countries, these were real communist regions. Poland was rebellious, different. To this day, when I go to Slovakia, Hungary or Romania, I feel the difference and the mentality of these people. Here you are looking at very iconic Polish actors - the Dudek cabaret, Piwnica pod Baranami, I assure you that even if it were a skit about a spoon, it would also be funny. Check out the cabaret king Laskowik.