«Hochsztapler, który przy pomocy wydziwiania czaruje ludzi i władze»: Grotowski w Opolu

Abstract

This article discusses the activity of Jerzy Grotowski in Opole and the history of Teatr 13 Rzędów (Theatre of 13 Rows) in 1959–1964. The author makes use of various types of documents collected during her years-long research into the political context of Grotowski’s creative work: interviews with witnesses, letters, memoirs, personal files, censorship papers, and materials from the archives of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (including reports prepared by the state security organs based on denunciations) in order to portray Grotowski as a theater manager. The juxtaposition and analysis of these documents shows the scale of the surveillance of the Theatre of 13 Rows and reveals the authorities’ methods of indirectly exerting control over the artists. The article provides new arguments to support the claim that the experience of working in Opole helped Grotowski the manager to develop politically effective methods of communication with the authorities and the media, which enabled him to retain his artistic autonomy.

Keywords

• jerzy grotowski
• polish theater after 1945
• censorship
• opole
• theater and politics