The musical performance I was Bob Marley’s wife, directed by Paweł Szumc based on a script by Małgorzata Jantos, is a reggae-infused story about Rita Marley—a woman who, for sixteen years, was the wife of the greatest musical star from Jamaica and a pop culture icon who continues to inspire both younger and older generations of rebels against the world’s injustices.

Despite its historical references, the creators of the performance are primarily interested in portraying a woman who, while living alongside her world-famous husband, strives to free herself from dependency on him and find her own path by seeking answers to the question: Who am I? In Rita Marley, we saw the traits of a modern woman, maturing into the awareness of her rights and individuality.

I Was the Wife of Bob Marley is also a story about a difficult love—one that provokes questions about the boundaries of devotion, sacrifice, and tolerance. It is a love story made even more complex by the restrictive framework of Rastafarianism, a Christian movement originating in Jamaica.

Music is an equally important protagonist of the performance. It will be heard in live renditions of Bob Marley and Rita Marley’s songs, such as „Is This Love” and „No Woman, No Cry”, performed by the specially formed band Mamas & Trawas.

We believe that the greatest strength of our performance lies in Katarzyna Chlebny, the actress portraying Rita Marley. Through her interpretation of both the character and the songs, she brings a unique perspective to the role. We are confident that, despite the cultural distance between Poland and Jamaica, her performance will immerse the audience in a hypnotic reggae rhythm, taking them on a journey into this somewhat exotic world.

The creators of the performance

It turned out that Rita Marley is a fascinating person. Today, she runs the Bob Marley Foundation, which supports, among other initiatives, the education of children in Jamaica. On one hand, she was a groupie, as that is how she initially entered Marley’s circle. On the other hand, she became the wife of a man who drew her into his world of interests and religion, making her a fervent devotee of the Rastafarian movement. At the same time, she had her own great ambitions, which she struggled to realize while living in the shadow of an overwhelming and dominant figure like Bob Marley.

This is precisely the aspect I wanted to highlight in „I Was the Wife of Bob Marley”—what it means to stand beside such a towering figure while fighting for one’s own space and creative expression.

Małgorzata Jantos, author of the monodrama