In 1977, the Gardzienice Theatre Association, an experimental theatre company was founded in a tiny Polish village. By 1992 The Observer was hailing "Brilliant Gardzienice...and orgy of joy, anguish, prayer and lamentation performed in candlelight with hurtling energy and at breakneck speed...Physically reckless, thrillingly well sung...On no account to be missed. " Today the Gardzienice Theatre Association is hailed as Poland's leading theatre group, training Royal Shakespeare Company actors and touring the world. Paul Allain describes and analyses their sung performances, strenuous physical and vocal training, and anthropological fieldwork amongst marginalized European minorities. This is one of the first detailed attempts to assess developments in Polish experimental theatres since 1989. The author questions whether those artists can maintain their vision in the face of Poland's economic difficulties and increased commercialization of the arts.
Author(s): Dr Paul Allain
Year: 1997
Language: English
Pages: 196
Preliminaries......Page 1
CONTENTS......Page 7
Introduction to the Series......Page 8
List of Plates......Page 9
Acknowledgements......Page 10
Introduction......Page 11
1 Polish Theatre Romanticism Fades......Page 17
2 The Rural Context and Gardzienice Village......Page 29
3 Polish Society The Art of Gathering......Page 37
4 The Formation of Gardzienice From Grotowski and Paratheatre......Page 49
5 Training......Page 61
6 Performances......Page 101
7 European Parallels Future Models......Page 121
8 An Intercultural Assessment......Page 133
9 Searching for a New Language......Page 141
Conclusion......Page 147
Postscript......Page 153
Appendix Polishing up on the Classics......Page 157
Notes......Page 159
Bibliography......Page 169
Index......Page 175
