Jerzy Jarocki Square
Kraków Artists: Theatre, Cabaret and Film
A square in the Planty, between Szewska Street and Szczepański Square, named after Jerzy Jarocki (1929-2012), theatre director, teacher, translator and playwright. In 1961-1998 he directed on the stage of the Helena Modrzejewska Stary Theatre in Kraków, and he was also a professor at the Ludwik Solski State Higher Theatre School in Kraków. He made his debut in 1957 at the Silesian Theatre; the world premiere of Gombrowicz's "The Marriage" in his staging took place in Gliwice in April 1960.
History
The square between Szewska Street and Szczepański Square is part of Planty Park, the historic park that surrounds the Old Town. It is named after Jerzy Jarocki (1929-2012), a theatre director, teacher, translator and dramaturge, described as one of the most important directors in post-war Polish theatre.
Jarocki graduated from the acting department of the State Theatre School in Kraków and studied directing at GITIS in Moscow. He made his debut in 1957 at the Silesian Theatre in Katowice. From 1961 he was associated with the Helena Modrzejewska Stary Theatre in Kraków - his first production there, Françoise Sagan's "Castle in Sweden", premiered on 21 July 1961 - and he directed on that stage until 1998. From 1966 he taught at the Kraków State Theatre School, from 1991 he was a professor there, and in 1994 he was elected to the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
His favourite authors included Sławomir Mrożek, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Witold Gombrowicz, Tadeusz Różewicz and Anton Chekhov. His work was marked by realism and precise analysis of the text, and he subordinated every element of a production - set design, costumes, music and acting - to a single vision. He died in 2012, and his ashes were laid to rest in the Avenue of the Distinguished in Kraków's Rakowicki Cemetery.
Did you know?
To stage Gombrowicz's "The Marriage", Jarocki founded the Gliwice Student Theatre in 1959 with students of the Silesian University of Technology. The world premiere in April 1960 was a major event, but after four performances the production was banned and taken off. It was later revived in Paris.