I went to the Cultural Center to see a performance by Kabaret Skeczów Męczących. From the moment I walked in, it was clear that my abs were going to get a more intense workout that evening than at the gym. The hall was packed to the rafters, and the audience looked like they came in for a prescription for a good laugh. And indeed—the prescription was filled one hundred percent. The performers shifted into high gear right from the start and didn’t let the pace slow down for a second. Each sketch was spot on. They held up such a funhouse mirror to everyday situations that you started wondering if you weren’t actually laughing at yourself. Every character was exaggerated just enough to make tears flow from laughter, not from crying.

The biggest surprise was that even the shortest breaks between sketches managed to trigger roars of laughter. The crowd reacted instantly, and the vibe felt like a family gathering where everyone suddenly discovers they have the exact same sense of humor. After more than a hundred minutes of fun, I felt like I had been laughing non-stop. My cheeks hurt more than after a visit to the dentist, only this time no one felt like complaining. Walking out of the hall, I noticed that almost everyone was leaving the Cultural Center with a huge grin on their face. They had the look of someone who had just recharged their batteries with laughter for the next few weeks.