Polish Theatre Research Articles

Jerzy Grotowski – via negativa

In this article, we aim to provide a brief analysis of the concept of via negativa through which the renowned Polish artist and director Jerzy Grotowski articulates both his artistic view and the philosophy underlying his entire training of his acting method. This negatively formulated notion also serves as a practical research direction conducted in his theatrical laboratory. Our analysis begins with the religious implications of the term, extracts some consequences of the Grotowskian artistic vocabulary, and ends with some general observations regarding the essential features of the Polish theatre school and tradition.

“Me? I’m No Revolution. I’m No Heroine.” Reconfiguring the Dissident in Contemporary Polish Theater

The figure of the dissident has become one of the key symbols of political opposition to Communism in Poland, with former dissidents playing a significant role in shaping the post-socialist and liberal order. While highly visible political struggles in polarized Poland have been foregrounded in confronting the Communist and dissident past, the seemingly less spectacular and more modest attempts at rethinking and reinterpreting the figure of the dissident that has emerged in contemporary Polish theater have gone almost unnoticed. This article examines how two contemporary theatrical plays engage with the polarized political discourse in Poland by problematizing the complex and gendered experience of dissidence. The artistic and political significance of the plays is elucidated against the backdrop of conservative and right-wing tendencies in the contemporary public sphere and artistic world that redefine the broader context within which Polish cultural producers operate. Zooming in on how these performances generate new representations and meanings of the anti-Communist political opposition, the article shows how the plays offer an occasion for rethinking and reinterpreting the figure of the dissident and its troubled legacy. As they explore the fields of tension that open up between individual political commitment and the relational and collective experience of dissidence, the plays make visible how the figure of the dissident has become a tool in remaking a Communist and post-socialist past and shaping a polarized present.

РОМАНТИЗМ И КОНСТРУКТИВИЗМ В ПОЛЬСКОМ ТЕАТРЕ 1920-1930-Х ГОДОВ

In the 1920-1930s, Polish theatre was experiencing a turn to new comprehension of the practice of stage space organization – the art of scenography was developing. It replaced the practice of creating theatrical decorations for garnishing the play and constituting the background for the action. The new scenography declared itself to be an art of the stage space composing. The development of new theatrical practice was influenced by constructivist spatial and rhythmical perception of environment, which Polish artists were improving in close cooperation with avant-garde architects. A similar approach to the stage design is common for the whole European theatre in the first decades of XX century, however the distinction of theatrical avant-garde in Poland came out as a special reference of the culture to its past and in particular to the romanticism heritage. Polish theatrical avant-garde, which came at restoration of independence time, was developing on overlap of the national myth and new unexplored freedom. Artists of the first half of XX century managed to disengage from the romantic myth only in some measure, but instead of resetting the national heroes and their heritage from the ship of modernity they turned to search for the new forms to embody that matter. The article reviews Polish theatre of the 1920-1930-s in the context of Polish romantic tradition on the one hand and constructivism, promoted by new avant-garde artist collectives – on the other. As an example of integration of two movements, a brief description of the unique project of Simultaneous theatre, created by stage designer Andrzej Pronaszko and architect Szymon Syrkus is given.

Polish theatre revisited: Theatre fans in the nineteenth century By AgataŁuksza, Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. 2024. 367 pages. $100.00 (pbk)

Polish theatre revisited: Theatre fans in the nineteenth century By AgataŁuksza, Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. 2024. 367 pages. $100.00 (pbk)

Katarzyna Fazan, Michal Kobialka, and Bryce Lease, eds. A History of Polish Theatre

A History of Polish Theatre, edited by Katarzyna Fazan, Michal Kobialka, and Bryce Lease, is a collection of essays that examines Polish theatre history from the Middle Ages on and makes a special effort to connect various phenomena in the past to the present day.

<i>Gesamtkunstwerk</i> Transcriptions in the Polish Theatrical Avant-Garde

When considering the concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk in the context of the avant-garde, it seems useful to use the term transcription, borrowed from musical terminology, which denotes the development of a composition for a different instrument, voice or ensemble than originally intended. From this perspective, we can speak of a transcription of Wagner’s concept to other areas of the arts. In Polish theater studies, the notion of the Gesamtkunstwerk appears often. Usually Wagner’s concept is cited as one of many inspirations of selected artists and their artistic practices. As far as the activities of artists among the Polish theatrical avant-garde are concerned, this inspiration seems to be obvious. In this article, I attempt to show how the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk functions in selected works of Polish artists, such as Zbigniew Pronaszko, Jerzy Grotowski and Tadeusz Kantor. These artists consciously refer to the Wagnerian idea by perceiving the work of theater art primarily as a tool of possible social change.

Українсько-польський культурний діалог театральних практик в українській спеціалізованій періодиці 2014–2023 років

Background. Cultural and artistic international relations remain a highly relevant research area in current globalization processes, especially the threatening political redistribution of spheres of influence by antagonist states. Cultural dialogue, including the "soft power" of cultural diplomacy, is a crucial communicative tool for mutual understanding. Theater arts hold a special place in this process. The article aims to explore the specifics of cultural and artistic dialogue development between Ukrainian and Polish theaters via the analysis of Ukrainian specialized periodicals from 2014 to 2023. The related task is to define the degree of scientific elaboration of the problem. This research continues the problem's scientific exploration presented in the article "Cultural and Artistic Dialogue of Ukrainian Theaters on the Pages of Polish Periodicals at the Beginning of the 21st Century." Methods. To confirm the working hypothesis methods of observation, analysis, comparison, and experiment were used; the study is based on the axiological, informational, systematic, historical approaches. Results. The article presents the conducted analysis of the publications (dated from 2014 to 2023) dedicated to Ukrainian-Polish cultural relations in Ukrainian printed and electronic theater studies editions, mainly in journals such as "Ukrainian Theater," "Proscenium," and "Cinema-Theater." Conclusions. Analysis indicates the intensity of creative communications between theater groups of both countries, and interest in international contacts at national, institutional, and personal levels. The qualitative data obtained are significant for interdisciplinary research in cultural studies, and practical cultural diplomacy. It also will be useful for cultural anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, journalists, art critics, and theater critics.

SIMEON POLOTSKY’S DRAMA NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE TSAR AND ITS WESTERN-EUROPEAN DRAMA SOURCES

Тhis paper aims to reconsider the influences of Western-European drama of the XVII century on the creation of Russian baroque and the first drama writer in Russia Simeon Polotsky. During the initial period, Russian theatre, especially during the XVI and XVII centuries, was under the strong influences of Western theatre culture. This paper reconsiders the influence of German, French, English and Polish theatre plays. Plots of his playwright were popular and well known in Western European literature from the XII century. In this paper, we tried to reconsider those influences on the example of his drama Nebuchadnezzar the Tsar. This drama plot was well-known in Western European theatre, and Simeon Polotsky knew some of them.

No Calm After the Storm. A Decade of "The Tempest" in Polish Theatres (2012–2021)

The article discusses twelve productions based on The Tempest shown in Polish theatres in the years 2012-21, a decade whose challenges included escalation of the migration crisis, increasing climate change, social and political unrest around much of the globe, and the covid pandemic, but which was also marked by important Shakespearean anniversaries. In order to inspect the play’s significance for contemporary Polish audiences the productions are scrutinised in relation to four categories of interrelated issues: modification of characters, depiction of suspended reality connected with sleep, dreaming, memory and recollection, references to current social and political challenges, and employment of the play’s meta-artistic potential. The productions’ interpretative tendencies reveal a number of common denominators which are analysed with an aim of explaining why, in today’s Poland, the possibility of reconciliation and return to some form of re-established order that the playwright contemplates is seen as very difficult, if not impossible.

Framing Polish-Jewish Relations Through Shakespeare in Post-war and Contemporary Polish Theatre

The paper aims to analyse how the staging of Shakespeare’s texts in post-war and contemporary Poland reflected the indifferent and hostile attitudes of Poles towards Jews, particularly during the Holocaust, and the distortions and gaps in the collective memory regarding the events. In the first part, the author focuses on Hamlet Study (dir. Jerzy Grotowski) performed in 1964 by Laboratory Theatre of 13 Rows in Opole, which is symptomatic of silencing the matter during the communist period. The second part draws from the statement of Jan Ciechowicz, a Polish theatre historian, who claimed that “the Holocaust killed Shylock for Polish stage.” While verifying it, the author analyses selected aspects of three productions directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski (The Tempest (2003), The Merchant of Venice (1994) and The African Tales by Shakespeare (2011)) and juxtaposes them against the background of the changes in collective memory. He argues that the most cogent productions concerning Polish attitudes towards Jews are those that position the audience as witnesses of the acts of re-enacted violence and thus provoke an affective response.

“We Could Have Ventured in the Opposite Direction”: Exploring the Legacy of Polish Theatre on the Festival Map of Independent Ukraine

This article examines the representation of Polish theatre on the Ukrainian festival map. This study includes key stages, events, and trends, and aims to uncover both positive developments and underlying problems. The research is based on sources such as published material, information resources, and my experience as a theatre critic. The periods of individual “breakthroughs” (1992–2000), “local encounters” (2001–2011), and “dramaturgical and performative landing forces” (from 2011) are identified and briefly characterized. The article outlines a broad geographical and genre-specific range of festivals in which Polish theatres participate and highlights their contribution. It also discusses the reception of individual performances by Polish theatres in Ukrainian criticism. The author focuses on the absence of iconic plays of Polish theatre on the posters of Ukrainian festivals (the exception is Bzik tropikalny (The Tropical Craze) by Witkacy, directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna, 1998). This resulted in the fact that the most important achievements of Polish theatre remained unknown to the Ukrainian audiences, and the professional community gravitated more towards Russia than towards the West. Given the more than four-hundred-year history of Polish–Ukrainian relations, it is essential that steps be taken to restore Polish–Ukrainian theatrical communication in order to ensure that Ukrainian theatre is connected to the European cultural space.

Method of Physical Action (MPA) in TAO Dance Theater

TAO Dance Theater is one of the contemporary dance companies with significant influence in the world. Its individualized and pure physicality prompts viewers to reevaluate and redefine aesthetics. This paper aims to investigate TAO Dance's "Method of Physical Action" which resembles Polish theatre master Grotowski's concept of "art as a vehicle." In other words, TAO Dance Theater achieves a suitable execution of self-constructed performance procedures, penetrating conscious and emotional manipulation under the influence of society and culture. It breaks away from the constraints of everyday life experiences and mainstream dance training, as well as prevailing objectification through visual preconceptions, ultimately achieving the best state of natural externalization through physical action.

Theatrical Architecture in the Andrzej Pronaszko’s Conception of Stage Space.

The work of Polish stage designer Andrzej Pronaszko embodied in a particular manner a certain turn to a new approach to the organization of stage space, which appeared to be a characteristic process for the Polish and European theatre of the first half of XX century. Pronaszko cooperated intensively with professional architects, which had a considerable effect upon his conception of stage space. The article reviews projects of the artist, which proved to be a realization of his conception of stage space referred to the „theatre of the future”: the stage design for the „Golem” play (1928), set up on the circus arena and the theatrical architectural projects of Simultaneous theatre (1928-1929) and the Mobile theatre (1934). Each of those three was created in cooperation with an architect (with Szymon Syrkus in the first two cases and with Stefan Bryła in the third one). In Polish theatre between two World Wars, scenography came out as a special domain of an avant-garde activism manifesting an uprise of the „theatre of the future”, which offered prospects of some extraordinary perceptional experience. The reviewed projects presuppose overrunning the boundaries of conventional theatre and using innovative engineering solutions in stage organization, lightning and sound engineering. They became an ambitious attempt to change drastically the mode of theatrical event at the level of the space architectonics and extend thereby theatre’s capabilities in dealing with dynamics of spectacle. The artist created new conditions for affecting the spectator’s comprehension of the stage performance.

Konfrontacja różnych pamięci w przestrzeni scenicznej na przykładzie spektakli biograficznych z Teatru Śląskiego (Leni Riefenstahl. Epizody niepamięci i What the heil?!)

CONFRONTING DIVERSE MEMORIES ON STAGE: BIOGRAPHICAL PLAY AT THE SILESIAN THEATRE IN KATOWICE (LENI RIEFENSTAHL. EPIZODY NIEPAMIĘCI AND WHAT THE HEIL?!)
 In recent Polish theater, numerous projects have drawn inspiration from biographies. These practices not only reflect the prevailing biographical trend in culture but also indicate that theater serves as a “memory machine,” playing a socially important role in establishing connections between the past and the present. Drawing on the examples of two plays staged at the Silesian Theatre in Katowice, namely Leni Riefenstahl. Epizody niepamięci [Leni Riefenstahl. Episodes of Non-memory] (2016) and What the heil?! (2022), and employing the concepts of cultural memory (A. Assmann, J. Assmann), postmemory (M. Hirsch) and multidirectional memory (M. Rothberg), this study examines the conventions employed in r e c o n s t r u c t i n g t h e p a s t wi t h i n t h e th e at r i c a l spa c e . Furthermore, it delves into t h e dynami c s o f va r i - o u s f o rms o f memo r y (e.g. cultural memory, communicative memory, individual memory) in theatrical representation.

Performing—Feeling, Auto-Transformation, and Expression: Tang Shu-wing and His Theatre Studio in Hong Kong

This article presents the multifaceted persona of Tang Shu-wing, an acclaimed director, actor, and drama teacher, and examines his profound connections with the Polish theater tradition, particularly Jerzy Grotowski. The text also discusses Tang Shu-wing’s Shakespearean productions staged in Warsaw and Gdańsk. Marzenna Wiśniewska’s introduction contextualizes the appendix, which contains the edited transcript of a lecture delivered by Tang Shu-wing during the international online conference Contemporary Acting Techniques in Eurasian Theatre, Performance and Audiovisual Art: Intercultural and Intermedia Perspective (2021). In this lecture, the director characterizes the main ideas underlying his actor training and work on performances at the Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio in Hong Kong. An essential part of the presentation is the characterization of Tang Shu-wing’s philosophy of art, including the four stages of an artist’s development and the methodology of authorial performance grounded in pre-verbal expression and body-based minimalist aesthetics.

Risky Hitchhiking, and Other Stories about the Theatre of the Eighth Day

Teatr Ósmego Dnia (the Theatre of the Eighth Day), established in Poznań in 1964, was a part of Polish student theatre. Between 1976 and 1981, it became one of the most important companies in the history of the Polish theatre, producing several masterpieces. It also became a legendary grouping of democratic, anti-communist opposition. The persecution it was subjected to was caused by censorship, the secret police, and the administration at all levels. However, the members of the group managed to overcome everyday fear, face the totalitarian authorities openly, and create unforgettable artistic works. Four of them, who belonged to the group from the early 1970s, still maintain the ethical principles and artistic strategies adopted at that time, and thus now clash with the ideology of the current ruling administration, which is the right-wing Law and Justice Party.

New Polish Theatre on the Small Screen: the TV series Artyści (Artists, 2015)

The article describes the phenomenon of the Polish TV series Artists. Created by the theater creators Strzępka and Demirski were their TV debut. The series has become iconic among the theater community. Analyzing the series I show its sources, which are stuck in the extraordinary recent development of Polish theater dramaturgy . I also try to show how the series opens the directing to new dimensions of creativity. The changes that have taken place in the Polish theater allow to replace the dominant models of affirmation and subversion with an affective approach to art whose frame I become experience.

“The Amateurs” On (theatre of) persons with intellectual disabilities in a feature film

In the paper I want do show and discuss some aspects of a feature film “The Amateurs” and attempt to find out what questions the presented movie can provoke, what experiences it tells about, and whether it can provide a stimulus for social change and emancipation of people with intellectual disabilities. The movie is based on the artistic work of Polish theatre company BRO Biuro Rzeczy Osobistych Personal Affairs Bureau, whose activity has been running for twenty five years. In order to see and reflect on some aspects of the movie I employed secondary data analyses / a content analysis of found data / secondary data / sources: some excerpts from movie critics' reviews and an interviews with the director of “The Amateurs”. Theoretical approach in attempting an analysis of the movie is inspired by sensuous theory of film by Vivian Sobchack. The meeting between the viewer’s and actors with disabilities in the film in an embodied cinematic experience understood as a dialogic encounter. “The Amateurs” not only enable to show /see/ an important and often missing social issues, but also reveals a change in the meanings ascribed to persons with intellectual disabilities as actors and (co)creators of (film) art and culture.

Les dramaturgies de l’existence, ou le tragique quotidien au théâtre : Karolina Czerska, Tadeusz Kantor i Maurice Maeterlinck. Dramaturgie istnienia [Tadeusz Kantor et Maurice Maeterlinck. Dramaturgies de l’existence

The dramaturgies of existence, or the tragedy in everyday life in theatre: Karolina Czerska, Tadeusz Kantor i Maurice Maeterlinck. Dramaturgie istnienia [Tadeusz Kantor and Maurice Maeterlinck. Dramaturgies of existence] Karolina Czerska’s book offers a comparative study in which the theater of Maurice Maeterlinck is confronted with the theatrical work of Tadeusz Kantor. The author has set herself two major objectives: on the one hand, she wants to popularize Maeterlinck’s dramaturgy with the Polish public, and on the other, she evokes the works of the Belgian writer in the context of Kantor’s stage productions, which agrees to revisit and reconsider the work of the Polish theater director from a new perspective. By comparing the work of these two theater men, Czerska examines four themes where their artistic concepts seem similar: the conceptions of the “tragique quotidien” (tragedy in everyday life) and the “invisible”, the construction and status of the character as well as the function of the actor.

The creation of Krystian Lupa’s Mo Fei (adapted from Shi Tiesheng’s works): A co-operation of Polish theatre in the Chinese theatre industry

In this article, the author analyzes the dramatic work Mo Fei, adapted from several pieces by the contemporary Chinese writer Shi Tiesheng by Polish director Krystian Lupa in 2017. The analysis pays particular to exploring the creation from the original text to the stage work. Mo Fei has been regarded as a successful adaptation, which brought about metaphysical, spiritual content rarely seen in the contemporary Chinese theatre. Lupa adapted Shi’s works based on existentialist philosophy, using unique theatrical methods and techniques of expression not presented in the original work. As an experienced international director, Lupa’s adaptation reflected his characteristic and preferred aesthetic. His directing methods and artistic taste were reflected in his adaption of Mo Fei, including the practice of laboratory rehearsal and pursuit of inner life (similar to Grotowski). These aspects of Lupa’s work have essential inspirations for the Chinese theatre industry.