Krytyka – jak działa(ć)?
Criticism – How Does It Work and How to Make It Work?

Author(s): Stanisław Godlewski
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: theatrical criticism; Oliver Frljić; Jerzy Koenig; Konstanty Puzyna; performance studies;
Summary/Abstract: In his text, Stanisław Godlewski attempts to answer the two title questions: how theatrical criticism works and how can one make it work? He defines theatrical criticism as any judgment concerning theatre – not only the written one, and turns attention to the problematic nature of theatrical criticism as a source in theatre history. On the one hand, theatrical criticism is a reconstruction of a theatrical work (and thus a kind of performance), and on the other, a subjective recording of the reviewer’s reception. Godlewski analyses the way in which the position of “the review as a witness” can be dangerous in studies on theatre, as theatrical criticism has not only a reconstructive but also a preserving function and contributing to the discussion on theatre may become hermetic. Simultaneously, the author of the article notices that the unobvious narrative-making power of criticism reveals itself in the moment of historical studies, when theatrical criticism becomes a source – it is precisely then, that its use may lead to various, frequently surprising conclusions.

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