Performing a hermitage : Jerzy Grotowski's tactics of periphery-cemtre policy

Kosiński, Dariusz (author), Zajec, Urška (resume translator)

Polish director Jerzy Grotowski (1933–1999) is generally considered one of the most important representatives of the theatre avant-garde of the second half of the 20th century. Even if he, from a particular moment, opposed such a recognition, in his practice, he developed a whole net of strategies inspired by the historical avant-garde, both Polish and European. One set of this net’s strings is connected strictly to the relation between the periphery and the centre. Being an heir of culture that considers itself peripheral (and tries reluctantly to oppose such a recognition), Grotowski developed a lifelong policy of periphery and centre. Consequently, choosing the former as his own “base”, or maybe even a “home”, he at the same time consciously haunted and invaded the latter, disturbing the conventional relations and hierarchies. The article presents an outline of the history of the strategies Grotowski developed from his decision to leave the central town of Kraków for the provincial Opole in 1959 until his performance of a “hidden hermitage” in Pontedera (Tuscany) in the 1990s.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Jerzy Grotowski, centre-periphery relation, performing an image
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: AGRFT - Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 42-57
• Numbering: Letn. 13, št. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-179013
• UDC: 792.071.2.027Grotowski J.
• ISSN on article: 1855-4539
• DOI: 10.51937/Amfiteater-2025-1/42-57
• COBISS.SI-ID: 240668163
• Publication date in RUL: 03.02.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Amfiteater : revija za teorijo scenskih umetnosti
• Publisher: Akademija za gledališče, radio, film in televizijo, Društvo gledaliških kritikov in teatrologov Slovenije, Akademija za gledališče, radio, film in televizijo, Društvo gledaliških kritikov in teatrologov Slovenije, Akademija za gledališče, radio, film in televizijo, Slovenski gledališki inštitut, Slovenski gledališki inštitut, = Slovenian Theatre Institute, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani, = University of Ljubljana Press
• ISSN: 1855-4539
• COBISS.SI-ID: 239685632

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Uprizarjanje puščavništva

Abstract

Poljski režiser Jerzy Grotowski (1933–1999) velja za enega najpomembnejših predstavnikov gledališke avantgarde druge polovice 20. stoletja. Čeprav se je sčasoma začel upirati tovrstnemu priznanju, je skozi prakso razvil celo mrežo strategij, ki sta jih navdihnili tako poljska kot evropska avantgarda. Del te mreže je povezan izključno z odnosom med periferijo in središčem. Kot dedič kulture, ki se vidi kot obrobno (in se tovrstnemu spoznanju hkrati poskuša tudi upirati), je Grotowski vse življenje razvijal politiko periferije in središča. Zato si je za »bazo«, oziroma kar za »dom«, izbral periferijo, središče pa je izpostavljal načrtnemu pregonu in vdorom ter s tem ustvarjal motnje v konvencionalnih razmerjih in hierarhijah. Članek orisuje zgodovino strategij, ki jih je Grotowski razvijal od odločitve leta 1959, da zapusti osrednje mesto Krakov in se preseli v provincialni Opole, vse do uprizarjanja »skritega puščavništva« v Pontederi (Toskana) v 90. letih.

• Keywords: Jerzy Grotowski, odnos med središčem in periferijo, uprizarjanje podobe