The text is a proposal to present the specifics of activities carried out by Węgajty Theatre in the formula of the Other Theatre School, in the second decade of its existence – the years 2010-2019. The author uses categories such as process, road / walking, performative theatre, rhapsodic structure, artivism, in an attempt to present the way of creating performances in Węgajty. She employs the proposed terms with reference to the findings made in various areas of knowledge by such artists as: Arnold Mindell, Rebecca Solnit, Tadeusz Pawłowski, Jean-Paul Sarrazac as well as the practice of Ricardo Dominguez, for example. What constitutes a significant element of the research material are unpublished interviews with the founders of Węgajty Theatre and its associates conducted by the author and Joanna Kocemba-Żebrowska in the years 2018-2020.
The text presents experiences of theatre work with Shakespearean repertoire (Shakespearean plays, themes and inspirations) in resocialisation-centre communities. References to the same type of activity in English-speaking countries (in the US, Australia, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) as well as in Italy and RSA provide a background that enables the author to map out the phenomenon of Polish performances in greater detail. The Shakespeare of Polish prisons, though still a rarity, turns out to be a multifaceted phenomenon varied in terms of theatre aesthetics, dramatic interpretation, modes of work and their goals. The research material on which the article is based consists of the following productions: Hamlet za kratą (‘Hamlet Behind Bars’) directed by Przemysław Pałosz at the Opole Detention Centre in 1994; the Kłodzko „Makbet” według Szekspira (‘Macbeth According to Shakespeare’) directed by Krzysztof Papis at the Po drodze Prison Theatre in 2006; the cycle of Hamletbased performances prepared by Magdalena Zelent at the Gdańsk Przeróbka Penal Institution (Szekspir – product czasowo niedostępny, 2011 [‘Shakespeare – the Product Temporarily Out of Stock’]; Hamlety – duchy ojców, 2012 [‘Hamlets – Ghosts of the Fathers’]; Hamlet. Leitmotiv, 2014); Wroniecka chuliganeria, 2011 (‘Thugs from Wronki’) by the Zniewoleni theatre group from the Wronki Penal Institution, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream directed by Joanna Lewicka by the Zapaleni.org theatre group with the participation of inmates from the Opole Lubelskie Penal Institution (2012). The analysis of particular phenomena reveals a flickering hybrid-form image of Shakespeare through which inmates try to express various existen tial nuances of being institutionalised and search for new ways of looking at the world.
Ariane Mnouchkine admitted in one of her interviews that, at the beginning, she had been simply hostile towards Molière and his legacy. Taking it into account makes her struggles with the oeuvre of Jean Baptiste Poquelin even more interesting. It is not accidental that the circumstances of both instances when Mnouchkine had a stab at Molière were similar. Both the film Molière (1978) and the theatre production of Tartuffe were realised at a time of serious problems that Le Théâtre du Soleil faced. And both productions were a lifesaver for the theatre. The screenplay for the film was based on the novel Life of Mr. de Molière by Mikhail Bulgakov. More importantly, however, the whole endeavour was for Mnouchkine a way to confront the heritage of her predecessors with what she was striving for. The outstanding man of the theatre was portrayed in a broad context that included his relationships with his theatre company, the epoch, society that was “barely emerging from the Middle Ages”, and power that revealed itself in the despotism of the king and the fanaticism of devotees. Mnouchkine made her Tartuffe take place in a setting resembling Arabic countries. In doing so, however, she did not attempt to stage Molière “in Arabic” but rather to bring up to date the image of social threat which the playwright in the 17th-century France had seen in zealots. The device she used had also to do with her conviction that making the setting more distant in time and place, a device applied to many different texts, often revealed the essence of the problem. The complexity of Mnouchkine’s attitude towards Molière clearly shows the problems with tradition understood as an act of passing something along. Its most important feature turns out to be the act of creating a space between generations that ensures creativity and development for both parties involved and enables them to transcend the natural bounds of death and deterioration.
W prezentowanym tekście specyfika pracy Teatru Węgajty została poddana analizie z uwzględnienie takich kategorii jak: „środowisko”, „kolonia”, „ethos” (z kluczowym dla tekstu rozpoznaniem Józefa Tischnera) i „ekoton” (wprowadzony przez Ewę Kępę). Tekst stanowi próbę odpowiedzi na pytanie w jaki sposób ethos Teatru Węgajty, etyka jego pracy wynikają z zajętego miejsca (opuszczonego siedliska poza wsią warmińską); i. w jaki sposób wszystkie te czynniki warunkują rodzaj pracy teatralnej i działań artystycznych podejmowanych w Węgajtach. Szczególnym ich przykładem jest międzynarodowy Festiwal Wioska Teatralna postrzegany w tekście w kategoriach utopii w odwołaniu do prac: Howarda Beckera, Michèle Madonna-Desbazeille, Alaina Passina, Jeana Duvignaud oraz rozpoznań Edwina Bendyka.
EN
In the presented text, the Węgajty Theater’s characteristic work method was analyzed taking into account such categories as: “environment”, “colony”, “ethos” (with the key recognition of Józef Tischner) and “ecotone” (introduced for humanities research in Poland by Ewa Kępa). The text is an attempt to answer the question how the ethos of the Węgajty Theater and the ethics of its work result from the occupied place (an abandoned habitat outside the Warmian village); and how all these factors determine the type of theatrical work and artistic activities undertaken in Węgajty. Their singular example is the international Theater Village Festival seen in the text in terms of utopia in reference to the works of Howard Becker, Michèle Madonna-Desbazeille, Alain Passin, Jean Duvignaud and the recognition of Edwin Bendyk.
The text presents the process of transformation of the organizational structure of the Węgajty Theatre and the related reformation of the group dynamics and methods of creative work. In the group’s complex organizational history, the turning point was the loss of permanent institutional support in 2011. After twenty-five years of work under the auspices of various cultural institutions in Olsztyn, the Węgajty Theatre was forced to function as a non-governmental organization. The text shows the impact of the grant system on the Theatre's activities and its strategies developed for conducting artistic work. Węgajty's most crucial activity, if the group is considered as a formation project, is the work of the Other Theatre School. The original form of artistic education is combined at the School with a return to socially engaged issues. The text also presents the pros and cons of a social cooperative created at the Węgajty Theatre to stabilize its financial situation.
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