Practising disease and its imaginarium functioning in society, via the example of the play Angels in America directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski

Abstract

The text discusses issues related to the practice of physical and mental illnesses. It also analyses society’s perception of illness itself, which is oft en imposed by the media. Selected themes and attitudes shown in the play Angels in America, directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski, are the essential core of this text and present the phenomenon I am discussing. The category of stigma formulated by Erving Goff man is an important aspect of the problems explored in the article. Other signifi cant issues analysed in the text are: the problem of disruption of the relationship of non-normative or diseased individuals with the rest of society, the issue of rejection, the feeling of loneliness and isolation in especially prepared spaces.