Characters

Prof. Reinhold – about fifty.

Mrs. Schneider – about seventy.

Jürgen, her son – in his mid-forties.

Location: Apartment in a terraced house.

ACTION

Professor Reinhold, in his new terraced house, envisions absolute peace and quiet for his philosophical studies on charity and harmony. But the idyllic scene is deceptive: the painstakingly renovated oasis is abruptly shattered when the new neighbors arrive uninvited. Mrs. Schneider and her son Jürgen intrude upon Reinhold's privacy with a mixture of intrusive helpfulness and underlying aggression.

What begins as a bizarre, hostile encounter rife with prejudice rapidly develops into a psychologically intense chamber drama about social boundaries, repressed secrets, and simmering conflicts. A Buddha statue, of all things—the symbol of inner peace—becomes the center of a dramatic escalation.

A thriller about how thin the veneer of our civilization really is when the foreign suddenly occupies our living room.

The piece was broadcast as a radio play by Polish Radio.