Alternative Theatre in Poland 1954-1989 describes a theatre movement about which little has been written in English. The complex nature of the relationship between theatre and politics is explored in this unique study of the exceptionally vibrant Polish theatre scene.
Tracing its evolution from the beginnings of the movement in the 1950s when two amateur student theatre groups performed programs of short, satiric skits which expanded the limits of the artistically permissable within a Communist society, the development of this movement is followed through the 1960s, when these satiric theatres, and others which sprang up in their wake, were forced by government censorship to become less politically active. During this period, other student groups concentrated on artistic experimentation, creating such forms as visual theatre, one-person shows, fact-montages, and poetry theatre. Furthermore, the period after 1956 saw the founding of two non-student theatres, Tadeusz Kantor's Cricot 2 and Jerzy Grotowski's Laboratory Theatre, both dedicated to artistic experimentation and having significant influence on alternative theatres worldwide.
In th 1970s, during the next period of political liberalization, the alternative theatre movement linked the avant-garde format it had acquired in the 1960s with the political engagement of the 1950s and reached its zenith with the works of groups such as the Theatre of the 8th Day. After the Solidarity period (1980-81), the movement declined in societal importance but groups such as Akademia Ruchu, Provisorium and Gardzienice continue to exist and produce experimental work.

Despite its international influence, Polish theatre remains a mystery to many Westerners. This volume attempts to fill in various gaps in English-language scholarship by offering a historical and critical analysis of two of the most influential works of Polish theatre: Jerzy Grotowski s Akropolis and Tadeusz Kantor s Dead Class . By examining each director s representation of Auschwitz, this study provides a new understanding of how translating national trauma through the prism of performance can alter and deflect the meaning and reception of theatrical works, both inside and outside their cultural and historical context.

Although theatre scholars have now gained familiarity with Akropolis and Dead Class, there remains little understanding of the complex web of cultural meanings and significations that went into their making they remain broadly but not deeply known. Grotowski and Kantor both sought to respond to the trauma of the Holocaust, albeit through drastically different aesthetics, and this study develops a comparative critical language through which one can simultaneously engage Grotowski and Kantor in a way that makes their differences evocative of a broader conversation about theatre and meaning. Ultimately, this volume invites and engages with many questions: how is theatrical meaning codified outside its cultural context? How is it codified within its cultural context? What affects the reception of a theatrical work? And, above all, how does theatre make meaning ?"

The complex nature of the relationship between theatre and politics is explored in this study of the Polish theatre scene. It traces the development of the alternative theatre movement from its origins, in the 1950s, through to its decline in the late 1980s.