Reimagining the Jewish Legacy in Postcommunist Poland: Dialogues
Reimagining the Jewish Legacy in Postcommunist Poland: Dialogues

Summary/Abstract: Fabienne Arvers and Piotr Gruszczyński converse with theatre director Krzysztof Warlikowski about the growing importance of Polish Jewish cultural heritage for his productions, with particular focus on his stagings of The Tempest (2003), The Dybbuk (2005), and Krum (2005). Warlikowski speaks at length about the significance of previously marginalised elements of Polish history for contemporary discourses on identity and social exclusion in Poland, and about the transitions in his thinking about theatre practice that have accompanied the thematic shift towards these areas in his work. Historian Michael C. Steinlauf's response to the dialogues provides valuable insights into the interwar Jewish culture in Warsaw, its subsequent destruction during the Second World War and the institutionalised forgetting of the communist period, and considers Warlikowski's work in light of recent efforts in Polish cultural practice to revive and stimulate debate around this legacy.

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