Charlie & Striptease is a double-bill of razor-sharp political satire by Sławomir Mrożek, blending absurd humour with unsettling situations, running at Golden Goose Theatre 21st April – 9th May 2026. Tickets available here. We sat down with producer and actor Rowland D. Hill to discuss their upcoming production.
What first drew you to the work of Sławomir Mrożek?
I was approached by Orsolya Nagy, theatre maker and director, who had been researching 1960’s and 70’s Eastern European theatre. Orsolya introduced me to Striptease and invited me to perform in a test production at the Birmingham Theatre Festival in 2025. Working on the play was a delight and audience reaction in Birmingham was very positive. As a result I scoured the internet and found a copy of six plays by Mrozek in English translation. They are all exceptional – entertaining and thought-provoking – and speak strongly to the situation in the world today. I was keen to do more!
What felt important about presenting the two plays together as a double-bill?
Striptease is a forty minute play, and it was clear that to have a viable evening of theatre we needed an accompanying piece. I proposed to Orsolya that my company, DRH Arts, should co-produce a run of two Mrozek plays (Striptease and another) and we researched the other work before determining on Charlie as the companion piece. In fact I was torn between a play called Enchanted Night and Charlie. In the end Charlie won out because it is just so funny and absurd, and has wonderful characters and situations to explore. It sits well with Striptease as a contrast in terms of characters, but explores similar themes in a very different and eccentric way.
Mrożek’s writing blends deadpan absurdity with sharp political insight. How have you approached bringing that balance to the stage?
It is always a pleasure to work as an actor and theatre maker on scripts such as these, which have emotional integrity and great characterisations. As performers we have to find the truth of the characters, and the relationships between them. The political insight is something that the audience will hopefully enjoy, but the characters are not stating that, rather their situation illustrates political issues that in some ways the characters are struggling with. The comedy is opened up and revealed if we are honest in our portrayals and in the goings on between us. Hopefully we’ll achieve that!
Taking on both producing and acting roles can be demanding. How does being a producer change the way you approach your performance?
Being a producer does not change my approach to performance at all. I have a lot of experience as a producer and understand how that role works and what is required, so I am able to separate the two roles. I’ve done it before and have also been writer and producer (in 2025 for my play Who is Claude Cahun? at Southwark Playhouse), which in some ways was more difficult because I was not on stage presenting the work! Sometimes it’s necessary to be proactive in facilitating the work you want to do and hence being willing to act as a producer. The challenge is probably the work load that is required, especially when, as with Charlie and Striptease, there are large character parts to learn and rehearse. It’s lovely to get in the rehearsal room and forget about the producer bit for a time!
If someone is unfamiliar with Mrożek’s work, what would you love them to discover through this production?
I anticipate that many people seeing this double-bill of theatre will be unfamiliar with Mrozek, as indeed I was until Orsolya’s introduction! He is an extraordinary writer who deserves to be much better known in the UK. It should be said that his reputation remains high and high profile in Poland and some other Eastern European countries. I think people will be awe struck by the quality of the writing and by the imagination that has created these ridiculous situations and events, but which so strongly satirise the claustrophobic and unjust world of an authoritarian regime. I hope people will chuckle at the plays and at the same time understand the dangers they warn against.