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| The STUDIO theatre was established in 1971, and from 1980 became part of the
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz STUDIO Arts Centre, an institution, which
conducts a variety of different artistic activities and engages in the
promotion of contemporary arts. In the structure of the Centre, alongside the theatre, is the STUDIO GALLERY, the world famous orchestra VARSOVIA SYMPHONY, Impresariat and the Film Studio. Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz is the patron of STUDIO. He was a painter, dramatist, philosopher, eccentric and avant-gardist who was creatively active in the interwar period, and who, from the breadth of his interests is a symbolic figure for the Centre. In the history of the STUDIO theatre, three periods may be clearly defined. These are linked to the activities of three artistic directors. The founder of the theatre and the STUDIO Arts Centre was Józef Szajna, an artist, who between 1972-1982 created a new theatre, in the former halls of the Classical theatre. This new theatre was led by its artistes and was experimental. The theatre enjoyed a great strength of expression, brought into line by his artistic vision. The following performances have been produced at STUDIO by Szajna as the author of screenplays, stage designer, and director: Witkacy (1972), Replika (1973), Gulgutiera (1973), Dante (1974), Cervantes (1976), Majakowski (1978). They have also been presented at international theatre festivals, among others at Edinburgh, Ville, Recklinghausen, Quebec, Mexico, at the Theatre of Nations Festivals, the World Festival in Nancy, and the Rassegna Internazionale dei Teatri Stabili in Florence. STUDIO has become well-known in many countries of the world. In 1982, Jerzy Grzegorzewski, an artist of a similar pedigree to Szajna (painter, stage designer, director) but with a different style, took over the artistic direction of STUDIO. Waldemar D±browski became the Director-in-Chief and held the post for eight years. Under Grzegorzewski's direction (between 1990-1997 he was also the Director-in-Chief of the Centre), STUDIO became one of the most renowned theatrical stages in the country, without losing its status as an avant-garde theatre and, to a large extent, author-led. The theatre company continues to travel extensively and performs in many European countries, as well as Australia, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and Israel. The theatre also has a tradition of performing as guests in many different theatrical establishments. Grzegorzewski builds theatre from tension - both spatial and rhythmical, from the tension between the literary text and his stage vision, he creates a theatre of form, within which a game is played between modernity and tradition. A similar game was played with the repertoire, since his guiding force from 1982-1997, became the staging of texts by eminent authors of the twentieth century such as Genet, Beckett, Pinter, Brecht, Weiss, Ionesco, Pasolini, Witkiewicz, Różewicz, Muller, and Dorst. Many performances have been staged on the basis of Grzegorzewski's own screenplays, in which the collision of literary texts build a new surreal whole, and also creative interpretations of both national and international classics (Chekhov, Moliere, Mickiewicz and Wyspiański). In 1997, Jerzy Grzegorzewski left the STUDIO theatre, having had the most prestigious stage in the country entrusted to him; he became the director of the newly rebuilt National Theatre. From January 1997, Krzysztof Kosmala has been the Director-in-Chief of the STUDIO Arts Centre; The director, Zbigniew Brzoza, who had previously worked with the theatre, became the Artistic Director in October 1997. Zbigniew Brzoza, one of the most outstanding young creators, maintains the studio character of the theatre, whilst broadening its formula, by inviting a new generation of directors to work with the theatre. |