"Zawsze chciałem pisać powieści..." : o twórczości dramatopisarskiej Bernarda-Marie Koltèsa

Abstract

Bernard-Marie Koltès – a French playwright of the second half of the 20th century is still perceived as a very interesting author, not only because of the philosophical aspect of his work, the topicality of the problems he raises, but perhaps mainly because of the specificity of his writing, the way in which he creates, his inspirations and how he utilizes his private life experience. His cooperation with Patrice Chéreau, their mutual influence and fascination which lasted for the entire period of his creative career are commonly known. In the present article, the author considers to what extent the personality and experience of this prominent director and actor have influenced Koltès’s writing. It is really true that, as some say, there would not be Koltès without Chéreau? These quite complicated Koltès – Chéreau relations constitute one of the aspects of reflections over the works of the author of In the Solitude of Cotton Fields. Another is the reflection over the very process of writing, the way of constructing plays and the attempt at answering the question: why does Koltès, so fascinated by narrative forms, remain known mainly as an author of theatrical plays? In the final parts of the article, the author attempt to depict Koltès as a playwright who restored the weight of the word to contemporary European theatre.