Between Construction and Deconstruction. Różewiczian Scripts of Jerzy Grzegorzewski Cover Image
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Między konstrukcją a dekonstrukcją. Różewiczowskie scenariusze Jerzego Grzegorzewskiego
Between Construction and Deconstruction. Różewiczian Scripts of Jerzy Grzegorzewski

Author(s): Michał Zdunik
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Grzegorzewski; Różewicz; modernism; Italy; readymade;
Summary/Abstract: The subject of the article are scripts for two plays of Jerzy Grzegorzewski; based on the texts by Tadeusz Różewicz: Śmierć w starych dekoracjach [Death in the Old Decorations] (Polish Theatre in Wrocław; 1978) and Złowiony [Captured] (Polish Theatre in Wrocław; 1983). In his essay; the author performs a detailed analysis of the writing; adaptational and intertextual strategies of the director who becomes a playwright on a par. As it is demonstrated; Grzegorzewski’s work exceeds far beyond a mere transposition of literature for the purpose of a dramatic production: the theatrical writer disturbs the structure of Różewicz’s prototypes – through adding multiple quotations and references; he composes a cracked; postmodern palimpsest. Such a structure allows the artist to create a space for cultural dialogue – there appear references to earlier productions and a selection of excerpts or motifs from other cultural texts (for instance other works by Różewicz; topoi of an Italian city or melancholy) allows to inscribe the performances into the continuity of the tradition of European modernism. Apart from a strictly aesthetic order; the author also demonstrates the individualism of the perspective employed in the discussed scripts – Grzegorzewski creates a theatrical “intimate diary;” a dramatic “movie of memories” of the protagonist; where the succession of scenes is dictated by the melancholic work of consciousness. Such advanced playwriting techniques illustrate that Grzegorzewski can be regarded as an autonomous playwright; who utilizes – like a postmodern artist – a prior existing material; creating out of it a new; self-sufficient entirety.

  • Page Range: 107-122
  • Page Count: 16
  • Publication Year: 2019
  • Language: Polish