Playing Chaplin: Portrayals of the Cinema Icon in Interwar Polish Cabaret
Wojciech Świdziński
wojciech.swidzinski@e-at.edu.plThe Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6840-4069
Abstract
Cabaret-stage parodies of Charlie Chaplin were often presented in various Polish cities between 1923 and 1939; especially noteworthy here are Eugeniusz Bodo’s performance at the Qui Pro Quo cabaret theatre and the song Ten wąsik (The Tache) performed by Ludwik Sempoliński. The authors of those numerous interpretations equipped the character not only with his iconic attributes, but also with props that referenced contemporary concerns. An important factor influencing Chaplin’s image among Polish interwar artists and intellectual elites was his social and political engagement. Cabaret representations of Chaplin were most influenced by works from artists active in the avant-garde circle.
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Keywords:
Charlie Chaplin, cabaret, interwar Polish theatre, theatre and filmReferences
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Authors
Wojciech Świdzińskiwojciech.swidzinski@e-at.edu.pl
The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6840-4069
Wojciech Świdziński – PhD in Humanities, theatre and film scholar. Assistant Professor at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw. Since 2024, Dean of the Theatre Studies Department. Member of the Polish Society for Film and Media Studies. He has published academic and popular science articles in, among others, Kwartalnik Filmowy, Ekrany, Pleograf and Stolica.
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