«Dejmek»: An Exercise in Metahistory
Joanna Krakowska
jotkrak@gmail.comInstitute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3604-7313
Abstract
This article offers a critical discussion of Magdalena Raszewska’s book Dejmek (Warszawa 2021). The reviewer argues that this biography of Kazimierz Dejmek (1924–2002), theater director and manager, is at the same time a meta-historical source, as it offers insights not only into a particular receding model of theatre and thinking about theater, but also into the categories, concepts, and structures specific to its time. Raszewska precisely describes Dejmek’s patriarchal features and principles, and she presents the history of his theater using terms pertinent to the values cherished by himself and his community. While her use of rumor and denunciation letters to de-mythologize Dejmek’s theater and its backstage practices may at times raise methodological concerns, it undoubtedly contributes to a picture of power and community relations that encourages a critical examination of the past and its protagonist.
Keywords:
Kazimierz Dejmek, biography, Polish theater after 1945, Polish People's Republic, Zbigniew RaszewskiReferences
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Authors
Joanna Krakowskajotkrak@gmail.com
Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3604-7313
Joanna Krakowska - Associate Professor of Theater Studies at the Institute of Art in the Polish Academy of Sciences, teaches at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw. Her research focuses on the history of contemporary theatre. She led a feminist research project HyPaTia devoted to women in Polish theatre. Co-author (with Krystyna Duniec) of the books Soc i sex. Diagnozy teatralne i nieteatralne (2009) and Soc, sex i historia (2014). Editor of the anthology Transfer! Teksty dla teatru (2015), author of the monograph Mikołajska. Teatr i PRL (2011), two volumes of the series Teatr Publiczny. Przedstawienia (2016-2019), and the book Odmieńcza rewolucja. Performans na cudzej ziemi (2020), awarded the Gdynia Literary Prize.
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