«To Heaven? That is Just Blaspheming in Vain»: Faustus—Marlowe—Grotowski
Abstract
This article deals with the production of The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus after Christopher Marlowe directed by Jerzy Grotowski and put on by the Laboratory Theatre in Opole (premiered on 23 April 1963). The show became famous mostly for Zbigniew Cynkutis’ outstanding performance in the title role and Jerzy Gurawski’s stage set. It was also the first of Grotowski’s productions that garnered international acclaim. Until now, however, not enough attention has been paid to its dramaturgy and overall significance as an autonomous piece of artistic expression; instead, it has been viewed mostly as a step on the way to Grotowski’s more mature theatre. By reconstructing and recounting the particular scenes in chronological order the author presents his own interpretation of each of them and of the performance as a whole. Through this process, almost scandalous associations of great historical and ethical themes (e.g. theology after the Holocaust) with personal struggles with private inhibitions and intimate experiences can be found. It is through such associations that The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus was named "a mystery of awe and wonder."
Keywords:
Christopher Marlowe, Jerzy Grotowski, The Laboratory Theatre, Polish theater after 1945References
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Authors
Dariusz KosińskiJagiellonian University Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8502-8827
professor of humanities specializing in theater and performance studies, co-founder and head of the Department of Performatics at the Faculty of Polish Studies, Jagiellonian University. From 2010 to 2013 he was program director of the Jerzy Grotowski Institute in Wrocław, from 2014 to 2018 he was deputy director of the Zbigniew Raszewski Theater Institute in Warsaw, from 2012 to 2016 he was vice president of the Polish Society for Theater Research. In his research he deals with the art of acting in the 19th century, the Polish theatrical and performance tradition, the work of Jerzy Grotowski.
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