Old Students

The Old Students comprise a group of eight elderly individuals, each a fellow student of distinct personas such as the Old Man Repeater, the Old Man with a Bike, the Old Man in the Loo, and the Old Man Exhibitionist. They are uniformly dressed in black, wearing black bowlers, and their faces appear grayish with dead, unblinking eyes. These students each carry a child puppet on their backs, dressed in school uniform, serving as a poignant effigy of their lost childhood and a symbol of their perpetual imprisonment in the past.

The Old Man in the Loo

The Old Man in the Loo, one of the students, is perpetually found in the school lavatory. He is consumed by endless accounts and engages in quarrels with God, suggesting a fixation on the anal stage, indicative of an eternal regression. His repetitive actions underscore the theme of stagnation and confinement within the dead class.

The Old Man with a Bike

The Old Man with a Bike, another student, never parts from his battered childhood bicycle. He ceaselessly pedals around the desks, his actions symbolizing an inescapable cycle of repetitive behavior that traps the members of the dead class in an unending loop of their past existence.

The Old Man Exhibitionist

The Old Man Exhibitionist, also a student, finds himself subjected to the whims of his fellow students who drag him to the privy and de-pants him. Exposing his backside, he maintains this vulnerable position throughout the lesson on Solomon, reflecting themes of exposure and humiliation within the group dynamics.

The Old Man Repeater

The Old Man Repeater is characterized by his downtrodden appearance and the constant taunting and bullying by his peers. Despite this, he doggedly recites his grammar lesson, oblivious to the indifference of those around him. As the Obituary Distributor, he displays a penchant for repetitive action, monotonously distributing and reading the endless list of the dead class, further emphasizing the theme of relentless repetition.

Charwoman

The Charwoman is responsible for cleaning the classroom, a role that extends beyond sweeping up the debris of the dead class to the ritualistic washing of their cadavers, thereby earning her the symbolic title of Charwoman-Death. In the finale, she transforms into a nightmarish brothel keeper, her actions of bumping and grinding interwoven with the classroom's automatic and repetitive activities, highlighting themes of decay and degeneration.

The Woman with a Mechanical Cradle

The Woman with a Mechanical Cradle is wheeled in, strapped to a contraption resembling a combination of a gynecologist’s table and an instrument of torture. Her mechanical movements of opening and closing her knees are synchronized with the rocking of the coffin-like cradle, complete with its rattling wooden balls, creating a grotesque parody of the birth-death cycle.

The Woman Behind the Window

The Woman Behind the Window carries a window frame, symbolizing her perpetual separation from life. Her presence outside the window denotes her isolation, as she constantly gazes inwards, underscoring themes of exclusion and longing.

Somnambulist Prostitute

The Somnambulist Prostitute, known as the town harlot, moves with shameless confidence among the leering old students. Her automaton-like actions include baring her breasts, which contribute to the atmosphere of mechanical and impersonal interactions among the characters.

The Beadle

The Beadle serves as the preserver of order within the classroom. He remains passive in his chair but occasionally comes to life to sing the national anthem of the Austrian Empire, his actions sporadically injecting moments of order into the chaotic scene.

Tadeusz Kantor

Tadeusz Kantor, the mastermind behind the play, maintains his presence on stage throughout the performance. He directs the unfolding action by signaling climaxes, managing the musical pieces, guiding entrances and exits, and manipulating the pacing of the performance. His unpredictable presence ensures that the sequence of actions is fluid, varying from performance to performance, and contributing to the dynamic and evolving nature of the play.