A midsummer night's dream in Polish puppet theatres in Silesia – Mise-en-Scène by Jan Dorman, Josef Krofta and Marián Pecko

Abstract

This article presents 3 performances based on Shakespeare's play: A Midsummer Night's Dream made for the Teatr Dzieci Zagłębia (The Zaglebie Children's Theatre) in Będzin (1965), Wrocław Puppet Theatre (2003) and in the Puppet Theatre 'Banialuka' in Bielsko-Biała (2013). They were created by the famous Polish creator, Jan Dorman and two artistic teams: Czech – under the direction of Josef Krofta, and Slovak – directed by Marián Pecko. The description of the three performances is presented in the context of the significant presence of artists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia on puppet theatre stages in Poland. Polish, Czech and Slovak puppetry collaboration became a reality at the end of the 1970s and took on a new quality after 1992. In Polish theatres at this time appeared stage directors such as: Brožek, Chalupová-Pěničková, Kopecký (Matěj, father and son), Krofta (Josef and Jakub), Nosálek, Pecko, Spišak, Štumpf; stage designers: Andraško, Doležal, Farkašova, Hubička, Lipták, Kalfus, Kuchinka, Kudlička, Polívka, Tománek, Volkmer, Zákostelecký, Zavarský; and composers: Mankovecký, Helebrand, Engonidis. At the same time, Czech artists such as Karel Brožek, Petr Nosálek, Jakub Krofta, became artistic directors of Polish puppet theatres in Katowice and Wrocław, which was an unprecedented phenomenon.