Meeting of the SPATiF-ZASP Drama Program Committee (25 II 1968)

Edward Krasiński (ed.)

Abstract

Minutes of the six-hour meeting of the Drama Program Committee of the Association of Polish Theater and Film Artists convened by Gustaw Holoubek to “discuss the matter of the performance of Forefathers' Eve at the National Theater in Warsaw.” The text is preceded by an information note by the editor. Also present at the meeting were representatives of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party and the government, who stressed that the removal of the outstanding performance from the theatre's repertoire was “a defense of the actors, director, and audience” against “brawls and political demonstrations.” The artists considered the ban on performances to be wrong and socially harmful, and condemned the form of suspension of performances without talks and discussions. A joint - conciliatory but firm - communiqué from the meeting was drafted, including demands to restore the performance to the repertoire and to enter into dialogue between the authorities and the artists. Until now, only the final communiqué and the accounts and notes of some participants were known. The basis of the present publication is a 79-page text transcribed from a tape recording, which was neither authorized by the participants nor censored. The document comes from the archives of Stanislaw Witold Balicki.