The opera is centered on a meeting arranged by Elizabeth Costello (the writer) between Paul Rayment, a man of late middle-age with an amputated leg and the blind Marijana.
The meeting has not only a strong sexual connotation but themes as love, isolation, old age, and fear of demise are prevalent.
[6][7][8] J. Roszak in Biweekly described Slow Man as a ‘high risk opera’ but also as 'an important operatic work'.
The staging by Maja Kleczewska has been described[10] as 'a subtle treatment of words and sounds with suggestive film footage by Wojciech Pus'.
The set design was by Katarzyna Borkowska and the opera poster illustration was the painting The Advantage by Michael Borremans.