CO ZEZNAŁ "ŚWIADEK" ROMANA ORWIDA-BULICZA?
What Did the 'Witness' Testify?: Roman Orwid-Bulicz’s Drama Reconsidered

Summary/Abstract: This article examines 'Świadek' ['The Witness'], a drama by Roman Orwid‑Bulicz (1902–1973), along with its stage productions and its reception within the Polish émigré community. Through an analysis of the play and the critical texts devoted to it, the author employs social, cultural, and historical contexts to demonstrate how strongly the work reflects the atmosphere and anxieties prevalent among émigré circles in the first postwar years. The article argues that the drama is not so much an attempt to convey the truth about the Katyn Massacre on stage as an artistic warning against the threat posed by the USSR and the prospect of World War III. Furthermore, it highlights the play’s significance for the emergence and development of the émigré theatre, situating it within current scholarly discourse on the so‑called “theatre of service”.

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