Opowiedzieć historię. Polska dramaturgia współczesna po 2006 roku
To Tell the History. Polish Contemporary Dramaturgy after 2006
Contributor(s): Joanna Królikowska (Editor), Weronika Żyła (Editor)
Subject(s): History, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Cultural history, Drama
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: Polish theatre; Polish drama; history; memory; memory studies; narrative strategies
Summary/Abstract: Publication ”To Tell a Story. Polish Contemporary Dramaturgy after 2006” is an attempt to analyse the historical narratives in the newest Polish theatre and drama. Starting from the classical canon of memory studies, shaped by researchers such as Pierre Nora, Marianne Hirsch, Jan and Aleida Assmann or Maurice Halbwachs, young theatre researchers look at methods, reasons, aims and effects of including historical and memory narratives into performances and dramas. Due to the variety of research approaches and topics undertaken by both the authors of articles and theatre artists, the issue of telling the history in Polish theatre and drama was treated in a cross-sectional area. The book deals with the themes of peasant stories, stories related to the place (memory spaces), memory transfers between generations, or feminist revision of history, among others. Using examples of selected dramatic texts and plays (not only representing dramatic theatre, but also musical, puppet or physical theatre), the dramaturgical conventions and narrative strategies employed by theatre makers that influence the construction of stories about the past are analysed.
- E-ISBN-13: 978-83-8331-082-4
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-83-8331-081-7
- Page Count: 200
- Publication Year: 2023
- Language: Polish
Wstęp
Wstęp
(Introduction)
- Author(s):Joanna Królikowska, Weronika Żyła
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Editorial
- Page Range:7-14
- No. of Pages:8
- Price: 4.50 €
Wyparte chłopskie korzenie i poszukiwanie szlacheckiego "imaginarium". "W imię Jakuba S." Moniki Strzępki i Pawła Demirskiego
Wyparte chłopskie korzenie i poszukiwanie szlacheckiego "imaginarium". "W imię Jakuba S." Moniki Strzępki i Pawła Demirskiego
(Re-establishing peasant roots, deconstructing upper-class identities. "In the name of Jakub S." by Monika Strzępka and Paweł Demirski)
- Author(s):Krystyna Berkan
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Drama
- Page Range:15-28
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:Monika Strzępka; Paweł Demirski; ‘In the name of Jakub S.’; Jakub Szela; people’s history
- Summary/Abstract:The aim of this article is to analyze the drama “In the name of Jakub S.” (“W imię Jakuba S.”) by Paweł Demirski and the performance under the same title, staged in Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw in 2011. The artists – the author Paweł Demirski and the director, Monika Strzępka – argued that there exists a parallel between economic serfdom and contemporary capitalist exploitation. At the same time, they criticized the leading historical discourse that focuses on the upper classes (such as nobility). As a counterproposal, they attempted to create a narrative about the subaltern groups, foremostly peasants. They emphasized the significance of events such as the Galician Slaughter (Rabacja Galicyjska) of 1846, during which this social class revealed its agency. I examine if such theses can be considered seriously regarding historical knowledge. An important context to me are the current Polish historical and sociological publications and polemics about the so-called people’s history. At the same time, I ask if the ideas of Strzępka and Demirski were clear for the auditorium and how they corresponded with the viewers’ particular experiences.
- Price: 4.50 €
Dziecięce doświadczenie getta w spektaklach dla młodego widza
Dziecięce doświadczenie getta w spektaklach dla młodego widza
(Childhood experience of the ghetto in the performances for young spectators)
- Author(s):Joanna Królikowska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Social Sciences, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, History of the Holocaust
- Page Range:29-48
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:puppet theatre; shadow theatre; Holocaust; ghetto
- Summary/Abstract:The theatre makers often deal with the issue of the Holocaust, but predominantly they talked about the past and memory with adult audiences. Attempts to tell young audiences about the Holocaust are therefore a novelty in Polish theatre. Two performances: “Huljet, huljet” of Teatr Figur in Krakow and “Rutka” of the Arlekin Puppet Theatre in Lodz, both presenting the life of Jewish children in ghettos are examples of activities undertaken in this trend. Both of them are based on local stories related to the cities where theatres operate. “Huljet, huljet”, directed by Dagmara Żabska and Alla Maslovskaja, refers to the Krakow ghetto, Rutka, directed by Karolina Maciejaszek, to the Lodz ghetto. The common element for both shows constitutes making children the main characters and presenting life in a closed neighborhood from their perspective. The analysis of the indicated performances made it possible to check how the creators constructed the stories about the childhood experience of the ghetto and by what means they tried to convey this experience to the young audience. In this context it is worth to mention the importance of considerations done by Frank Ankersmit, in particular the categories of "historical experience" and "experience about the past".
- Price: 4.50 €
Przypominanie-zapominanie. Pięćdziesiąt lat po Marcu 1968
Przypominanie-zapominanie. Pięćdziesiąt lat po Marcu 1968
(Remembering-forgetting. 50th March 1968 anniversary)
- Author(s):Weronika Żyła
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
- Page Range:49-66
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:memory studies; memory in theatre; history in theatre; March 1968; postmemory
- Summary/Abstract:In this thesis, the author analyses theatre performances about March 1968’s episodes, created in connection with their 50th anniversary. The author chooses two of them: “Sprawiedliwość” directed by Michał Zadara and “Kilka obcych słów po polsku” by Anna Smolar. The main reason, why the author chooses these particular performances, is that both directors are part of the second generation after March ’68. They do not have individual memory of that episodes. Because of that, it was interesting for the author, to explore how both directors explore this subject, how they create the narrative, which strategies they choose to talk about it, and what was their purpose. The author set her research in the field of memory studies and theories conducted by f.e. Aleida Assmann, Marianne Hirsch, and Pierre Nora.
- Price: 4.50 €
„Teatr z kalendarza”. Dramaturgia spektakli upamiętniających wydarzenia Marca 1968
„Teatr z kalendarza”. Dramaturgia spektakli upamiętniających wydarzenia Marca 1968
(„Calendar Theatre”.Dramaturgy of performances commemorating the March 1968)
- Author(s):Karolina Kosieradzka
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, History of Antisemitism
- Page Range:67-81
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:dramaturgy; March 1968; postmemory; narrator; photography; archive
- Summary/Abstract:Creating performances for the celebration of important events is not a modern invention, but it is an extremely interesting phenomenon due to the ability to respond to the needs of given times, the range of impact (territorial and reception), and usually a short operating time. The fiftieth anniversary of March 1968 was full of performances dealing with the emigration of Polish citizens of Jewish origin who were forced to leave by launching an anti-Semitic campaign. In my paper, I will analyze the dramaturgy of three performances: “A Few Foreign Words in Polish” directed by Anna Smolar with a text by Michał Buszewicz created for a specific production, Michał Zadara's “Justice” as a theatrical investigation into a crime involving “King Oedipus” by Sophocles and “Notes from exile” directed by Magda Umer and adapted from a book by Sabina Baral. Despite the common starting point, which is the theme of the events of March 1968, the aforementioned performances are characterized by a different approach to both the undertaken problem and dramatic solutions. The main concept of the paper is "postmemory", that is the structure of the transfer of trauma between generations, and its subsequent redefinitions. An important issue will also be examining the relationship between memory and history, the function of photography and the principles of building a postmemory archive.
- Price: 4.50 €
Kobieca fizjologia w dramacie Krzywicka/ Krew Julii Holewińskiej
Kobieca fizjologia w dramacie Krzywicka/ Krew Julii Holewińskiej
(Feminine physiology in the drama "Krzywicka / Blood" by Julia Holewińska)
- Author(s):Joanna Tarasińska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Gender Studies
- Page Range:83-97
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:herstories; woman; physiology; Irena Krzywicka; Julia Holewińska; drama
- Summary/Abstract:The female body in Polish culture is still perceived ambiguously. On the one hand, we are dealing with the eroticization or sexualization of female images. A woman is to be an attractive object of desire and at the same time meet a number of requirements regarding her appearance, character and lifestyle. On the other hand, you can hear that you only talk about what is in some way comfortable and aesthetic. It is related to centuries of narrating from a male point of view and perceiving reality through the prism of features or spheres of life commonly associated with the world of men. A breakthrough of a kind in Polish contemporary drama is Julia Holewińska's "Krzywicka/ Krew". Based on the biography of Irena Krzywicka, a writer and promoter of conscious motherhood, contraception and sexual education, the author created a female polyphony that reveals to everyone the female intimacy associated with various types of blood or body transformations. The playwright does not tell the story of Krzywicka directly - the main character can be recognized in the dilemmas of the female characters and the events of their lives. Thus, the work is a strong part of the herstoric trend. It is the perspective of women that is at the fore here - their role in society, perception of their own body, their own sexuality, and a sense of worth. They themselves talk about gender-related issues. Holewińska's drama and its productions (Modrzejewska Theater in Legnica and Horzyca Theater in Toruń) are a commentary on an important social problem - tabooing, among others, physiological processes taking place in the body of a woman, and at the same time give voice to women so that they can talk about themselves without men as intermediaries. That is why it is important to list "Krzywicka/ Krew" among contemporary dramas.
- Price: 4.50 €
Był sobie Polak, Polak, Polak i wstyd
Był sobie Polak, Polak, Polak i wstyd
(There Was a Pole, a Pole, a Pole and a Shame)
- Author(s):Joanna Adamiec
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Nationalism Studies
- Page Range:99-112
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:Shame; Nationality; Polish people; Paweł Demirski; Monika Strzępka
- Summary/Abstract:The aim of this article is to pay attention to shame as a key affect in the reception of the performance "There was a Pole, Pole, Pole and a Devil…" by Monika Strzępka and Paweł Demirski. The article investigates what shame is, what is its genesis, types and how the mechanism of making viewers feel ashamed or embarrassed affects the perception of the performance. In article there are examples of emotions akin to shame. It wonders if there are topics that all (or almost all) Poles are ashamed of. In that context author examines the role of the city in which the performance was created against the background of the presented events on the issue of provinces. The article triggers the concept of 'shame pedagogy’. Finally, it proves that shame can be an inclusive, community-creative tool and experiencing a moment of deep embarrassment can have a purifying effect on viewers. Thus, it indicates the positive power of shame that encourages reflection and action.
- Price: 4.50 €
Poczet Królów Polskich już nie według Jana Matejki. Historia ostatniego „wawelskiego króla” według Krzysztofa Garbaczewskiego
Poczet Królów Polskich już nie według Jana Matejki. Historia ostatniego „wawelskiego króla” według Krzysztofa Garbaczewskiego
(The Polish Kings, not according to Jan Matejko. The story of the last "Wawel King" according to Krzysztof Garbaczewski)
- Author(s):Judyta Pogonowicz
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):History, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:113-128
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Krzysztof Garbaczewski; performance; Hans Frank; Wawel; mediatisation
- Summary/Abstract:The aim of the article is to analyze and interpret the performance of Poczet Królów Polskich directed by Krzysztof Garbaczewski. The premiere of the production took place on March 31, 2013 at the Stary Teatr im. Helena Modrzejewska in Krakow. Four authors were responsible for the drama of the performance: Agnieszka Jakimiak, Marcin Cecko, Sigismund Mrex (Sebastian Majewski) and Szczepan Orłowski. Despite this, the script was ready only before the premiere, which clearly shows the characteristics of Garbaczewski's work. The play is based on actors' improvisations, and the artist does not come to the institution with a ready-made project. This type of creative work is still under criticism. It is not surprising then that in 2013 many actors were outraged by the form of work imposed by Garbaczewski. Apart from the media dominating the spectacle - displaying a lively (Auslander 1999) action on a screen that obscured the stage, the content was also controversial for viewers. The cultural text produced by the director plays out Polish myths. The main axis of the action is the microhistory (Domańska 2006) of the last "king" who resided at Wawel. Hans Frank and his wife Maria Brigitte are considered other characters to be included in the King's Mail according to Jan Matejko. The spectacular Hans Frank will try to steal the tapestries and validate his position in the castle by commanding the Nordic roots of the Piasts. It will be hindered by Polish kings who, like in Wyspiański's (Miodońska-Brooks 1985), will come to life to protect Wawel. The artist provokes questions about Polishness and thought patterns about Poland, demands that history be demythised, a change in thinking about national mythology, and encourages reflection on collective memory. By adding the counter-history (Foucault 1998) of the king of the Nordic race, the director unmasks the tracing paper and historical memory that only functions as a dead archive (Taylor 2003).
- Price: 4.50 €
Muzyczność jako ślad wydarzeń historycznych we współczesnym dramacie polskim
Muzyczność jako ślad wydarzeń historycznych we współczesnym dramacie polskim
(Musicality as a trace of historical events in contemporary Polish drama)
- Author(s):Oleksandra Vasylieva
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Cultural history, Music
- Page Range:129-148
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:drama; music; intermediality; musicality; Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk; Magda Fertacz
- Summary/Abstract:The article analyzes the role of musicality in presenting historical events in contemporary Polish drama. Music is not only an ideological vehicle but above all one of the medias for transmitting memory, a trace of past events that are reflected in the present. It is this category of reflection, or resonance, that makes the appearance of music in dramatic texts similar to an echo. Its essence is the ability to convey emotions that cannot always be explained with words and often remain at the level of experience. That is why musicality serves as a filter through which the texts of contemporary Polish playwrights are being critically analyzed. In this case, we use the term musicality in its broad sense. Musicality in dramatic texts covers not only the musical pieces themselves but also the entire sonosphere. Musicality is a powerful way of presenting Polish history in contemporary drama on various levels.
- Price: 4.50 €
Obraz Breslau w spektaklu „Mock. Czarna burleska”
Obraz Breslau w spektaklu „Mock. Czarna burleska”
(The image of Breslau in a play “Mock. Czarna burleska”)
- Author(s):Małgorzata Woźniak
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Language and Literature Studies, Music
- Page Range:149-167
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:burlesque; musicals; Marek Krajewski; Konrad Imiela; mockumentary; Mock. Czarna burleska
- Summary/Abstract:“Mock. Czarna burleska” is a musical play that premiered in 2019, in Musical Theatre Capitol in Wrocław. It is based on seven crime stories by Marek Krajewski. The author of this article claims that (apart from a policeman Eberhard Mock) the second main character of the performance is the city of Breslau. The director of this play Konrad Imiela, who wrote the songs with Roman Kołakowski as well, relying on a literature source, draws an image of a city of depravity on stage. Prostitutes are the narrators of the whole spectacle while the titular character lives in the criminal underworld of Breslau in the 20s and 30s of the twentieth century. Literary fragments that the play was based upon were used in the analysis. Detailed description of the architecture and atmosphere of the city is visible in Krajewski's writing as well. The vibe certainly arises from the genre that the author has chosen. Events of the series take place mostly in the dark streets and sinister bars, while the characters are mostly criminals. The authors of the play in question use not only a text in the case of building a certain climate but also interesting mockumentary techniques, which are a part of a wider reflection on fiction and reality. Pictures used as a part of a scenic design, as well as an exhibition in a foyer, are a mixture of photographs that are styled to look like they were made at the beginning of the twentieth century and those that are authentic. That collection is supplemented with a description, which allows the audience to dive even deeper into a narrated story.
- Price: 4.50 €
„Ocalający powrót” – dramaturgia podróży w czasie, przestrzeni i języku w spektaklu Krym Małgorzaty Trajkowskiej i Very Popovej
„Ocalający powrót” – dramaturgia podróży w czasie, przestrzeni i języku w spektaklu Krym Małgorzaty Trajkowskiej i Very Popovej
("A saving return" - the dramaturgy of a journey in time, space and language in the play Crimea by Małgorzata Trajkowska and Vera Popova)
- Author(s):Alicja Barbara Zalewska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts
- Page Range:169-183
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:physical theatre; autothetre; dance; document; memory
- Summary/Abstract:The article presents the dramaturgic strategies in the play “Crimea” by the Sztuka Nowa Association. The creators – Vera Popova and Małgorzata Trajkowska – take viewers on a journey across and beyond borders, into distant times and the recent past, as well as through language barriers resulting not only from cultural differences, but also from the fundamental difficulty of translating emotional experience into words. Refraining from a political theater, the artists create a play, which deals with the subject of the recent annexation of Crimea by Russia. At the same time, as in the autotheatre Joanna Krakowska’s theory, they talk about their own, intimate experiences related to the trip to the Black Sea coastline. They present a journey that takes place not only in time and space, but also in emotions and experiences of their bodies. Fueled by the beauty in melancholy of Julia Kristeva's theory, the play is at the same time ironically distanced and grotesquely humorous. Numerous postdramatic solutions situate the performance in a historical, sociopolitical, personal, aesthetic and existential narrative at the same time. Physical theater, Popova's and Trajkowska's motherland, is related to body art and dance techniques. Therefore, their art might be analyzed with the Daniel Sibony's idea of dancing between two bodies: one remembering and one present, but also with Dorota Sajewska’s theory of the body as an archive.
- Price: 4.50 €
Teksty, które przepadną, czyli o redaktorskiej władzy estetycznej
Teksty, które przepadną, czyli o redaktorskiej władzy estetycznej
(Plays that will be lost or about editorial aesthetic power)
- Author(s):Adrianna Wolińska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Drama
- Page Range:185-199
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:Dialog; Gdyńska Nagroda Dramaturgiczna; dramaturgy; pandemic; dramas
- Summary/Abstract:The content of the article concerns the creation of aesthetic trends in recent Polish drama. The author compares the categories of power over the production of discourse, proposed by Michel Foucault, to the exercise of editorial or jury power over the publication or rewarding of texts for theater. He identifies two institutions as having the greatest influence - the magazine Dialog and the Gdyńska Nagroda Dramaturgiczna competition. The article raises the issue of texts rejected by those who evaluate them. The author wonders whether perhaps it is these texts that would not become for researchers a real landscape of different realities, when the texts selected by the institutions, are only a slice of it. To this end, she looks at the dramas created during the coronavirus pandemic, taking this event as formative, from which time the texts will become, or perhaps have already become, a vehicle for cultural memory.
- Price: 4.50 €