Abstract
It is difficult to say beyond any doubt whether the reception of two performances by Konrad Swinarski, Smak miodu [A Taste of Honey] of 1959 in Teatr Wybrzeże and Wszystko dobre, co się dobrze kończy [All’s Well That Ends Well] of 1971 at the Stary Theatre - was something absolutely unique in the history of post-war Polish culture. There is no doubt, however, that is unusual. In these two perfromances homosexual characters appear. Homosexual men. This does not, however, indicate the uniqueness of these performances. It is rather the fact that the reviewers openly adressed the homosexual orientation of the stage characters.
Keywords
queer; homosexuality; Konrad Swinarski
Grzegorz Niziołek
(1962) is a theatre and literary scholar, playwright, professor at the Jagiellonian University and AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow. Interests include 20th- and 21st-century theatre, Romantic tradition in Polish theatre, theatre criticism, the latest phenomena in Polish and European theatre, and connections between theatre and history. Recently published Polski teatr Zagłady [Polish Holocaust Theatre] (Instytut Teatralny, Krytyka Polityczna 2013; the book received the Jan Długosz Award in 2014). Literary director of the Stary Theatre in 2004–2007, founder of the re_wize festival and artistic director of the first two editions, focusing on contemporary interpretations of Romantic and Classical texts. Between 2008 and 2010 artistic director (with Agata Siwiak) of the Łódź of Four Cultures Festival. Co-founder and editor of Didaskalia theatre journal.
![Konrad Swinarski, Anna Polony and Wojciech Pszoniak during rehearsals for the <i>Wszystko dobre, co się dobrze kończy</i> [<i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i>] 1971, Stary Theatre in Kraków, photo: Wojciech Plewiński](https://polishtheatrejournal.com/public/journals/3/cover_article_198_en_US.jpg)