He had a stroke in 2002, resulting in aphasia, which took several years to cure. He left Poland again in 2008, and moved to Nice in southern France. Sławomir Mrożek died in Nice on 15 August 2013. Not a religious person by any means, on 17 September 2013 he was buried at the St. Peter and Paul Church in Kraków. The funeral mass was conducted by the Archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz. Literary career Mrożek's first play, The Police, was published in 1958. His first full-length play, Tango (1965) written about totalitarianism in the style of Theatre of the Absurd, made him, according to Krystyna Dąbrowska, one of the most recognizable Polish contemporary dramatists in the world. It became also Mrożek's most successful play, according to Britannica, produced in many Western countries. In 1975 his second popular play Emigranci (The Émigrés), a bitter and ironic portrait of two Polish emigrants in Paris, was produced by director Andrzej Wajda at the Teatr Stary in Kraków. Mrożek traveled to France, England, Italy, Yugoslavia and other European countries. After the military crackdown of 1981 Mrożek wrote the only play he ever regretted writing, called Alfa, about the imprisoned Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa who became President of Poland after the collapse of the Soviet empire. See also "fałszywka". After the introduction of martial law in Poland, productions of Alfa were banned, along with two of Mrożek's other plays, The Ambassador and Vatzlav. The later play, in Gdańsk, in the city known as the birth and home to Solidarity (Polish trade union) and its leader Lech Walesa, Theater Wybrzeze courageously premiered "Vatzlav". These were the times that the country had food shortages, curfews and a police hour. Many actors were interned including actor Jerzy Kiszkis who played the title role of "Vatzlav". A Gdańsk born actress, activist and Solidarity Solidarność (Solidarity)supporter Beata Pozniak, was asked to play Justine, a character that symbolized justice. Censorship in theaters were enforced. It was noted that in this 1982 Gdańsk production, the censor stopped Mrozek's play not allowing many gestures made by actors on stage, including Justine's father wearing a beard, because he reminded her too much of Karl Marx. (Reference: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/world-theatre-day_b_9548710) It was not without reason that Mrozek's plays were often classified as absurd, since the times that everyone lived in were often referred to as absurd. List of works List of plays by Mrożek (below) is