User:Cheapdayrtn/ThePolice

The Police is a play written by Polish playwright Slawomir Mrozek.

Written in 1958 it is Mrozek's first play and one of his most acclaimed early works. Written in the style of Theatre of the Absurd, and listed in the Martin Esslin book of the same name, it has appeared on television in the United States and was also produced at the Phoenix Theatre, New York, in 1961. It was recently performed in 2007 at BAC in London as part of the TimeOut Critics' Choice season.

The action of the play takes place in a mythical country where all opposition to the state has disappeared and the last remaining political prisoner is to be released. Rather than face the prospect of retiring the police force, the chief of police decides to invent the enemy by ordering one of his officers to commit political crimes. The absurdity of the play culminates when the characters mutually arrest each other repeatedly in an attempt to restore order and meaning to their world.