Wybory repertuarowe Sceny Polskiej Tĕšínského divadla w Czeskim Cieszynie na rzecz zachowania tożsamości narodowej i regionalnej polskiej mniejszości narodowej na Zaolziu

Abstract

The article quotes, as a context for the problematics defined in the title, demographic data indicating systematic decrease of Polish population in Zaolzie. The publication referred to, Wizja 2035. Strategia rozwoju polskości na Zaolziu [Vision 2035: Strategies for the Development of Polishness in Zaolzie] (2015), suggests that national and regional awareness are two fundamental values of collective identity which consolidate the community in question. According to the mentioned study, amongst the major positive factors that have to be accounted for while considering the future of the Polish national identity, Scena Polska Tĕšínského divadla w Czeskim Cieszynie is prominent. The repertoire choices presented in the article were made as early as in 1951 by the said professional theatre company run by Polish autochthons in Těšín Silesia, and those choice ought to be perceived as both the carriers of Polishness and an important indicator of regional identity. They prove unambiguously that the only Polish-language professional theatre operating outside Poland may be considered a benchmark of rejuvenating and embedding the national and regional awareness of the Polish minority in Zaolzie.