Miroslaw Kocur – författare

The book presents the Tatar community in a new perspective, with its rituals and strategies that allow it to maintain the identity and distinguish itself, using categories of performance and performativity which – despite problems with normative definitions – have permanently entered a dictionary of culture analysis. The author describes and analyses Tatar religion-based customs and traditions, key moments of human life, as well as selected aspects of everyday life, which may be considered within the category of performances of identity. Tatar performances are deeply rooted in religion: Islam is a fundamental part of their identity and element of distinction. Following and performing the religious rules is strictly connected with the notions of ethnic identity and self-identification. Religious performances also serve them to preserve the figure of a Muslim Tatar.This book is a unique work documenting the life of the Tatar ethnic minority.

The author presents the method of research and creation in dance and theater in Brazil, called Bailarino-Pesquisador-Intérprete (Dancer-Researcher-Performer, BPI), which was created by the author herself. Through field research of ritual and Brazilian popular manifestations the author formulates a proposal for body work. She analyzes dance as an activity in which several bodies are integrated to generate knowledge in the sensitive, the perceptible and human relationships from direct contact with the surrounding reality. BPI aims to build a flexible and individualized body, in which the subject has room to develop. It emphasizes the need for a more responsible contact with certain Brazilian cultural segments so that stereotypes of a dance based on an ethnocentric view are not reinforced.

This book presents a new approach to early English theatre by exposing a genuine relationship between monastic performances and theatricality. It argues that modern theatre was reinvented in Anglo-Saxon monasteries by monks who were required to transform themselves by disciplining their bodies and performing complex religious acts. After extensively surveying the monastic and liturgical sources of theatre the author reconstructs the XII-century staging of the Anglo-Norman «Ordo representacionis Ade» and demonstrates the fundamental incongruity between the ancient and Christian performativity. On a more personal note he concludes with comments on references to the monastic rule in «Performer», a programmatic text by Jerzy Grotowski.

The author analyzes appropriately selected historical films of Steven Spielberg and Andrzej Wajda with respect to historical memory in relation to film. Cultural and moral foundations of national identity are also taken into account. Spielberg films particularly valuable for this comparative analysis are: «Schindler’s List», «Amistad», «Saving Private Ryan» and «Lincoln»; crucial Wajda films include: «Korczak», «Holy Week», «Katyń and Wałęsa». These works are analyzed in relation to the problem of representing the Holocaust, self-scrutiny in historical memory, commemoration of sacrifices for the national community during war, and foundation myths evoked through national heroes. The larger thematic framework for the above concerns is the underlying sense of covenant present within the two national communities that Spielberg and Wajda draw upon, a sense that explores the possibility of moral renewal under contemporary circumstances.

The book features a detailed analysis and interpretation of «The Saragossa Manuscript» (1964) by Wojciech Jerzy Has. The interpretative key is the director’s reference to the aesthetics of various art trends, starting with baroque, through romanticism, symbolism, surrealism and the culture of Orient. The artistic references named here which to a high degree can be brought down to quotations and hints (the composition of stop-frames referring to the style of a given painter or an art trend) are to a large extent the consequence of having been adapted by a particular novel (Jan Potocki). Notwithstanding, also this time Has stigmatised the project with his own style by referring to the aesthetics of surrealism which was alien to the literary prototype.

The author explores the practices of Polish butō dancers. Underlining the transcultural potential of the genre, she discusses in particular their individual body-mind practices and so-called butō techniques in order to produce a generalised account of butō training. Her argument is underpinned by complex field research which she carried out as an expert observer and a workshop participant. Drawing on a transdisciplinary approach, which combines insights and findings from the fields of cultural and performance studies, cultural anthropology and cognitive sciences, the book depicts the sequence of three phases which make up the processual structure of butō training: intro, following and embodiment.

The author analyses the substantial contribution made by American composers to the development of twentieth-century opera. The methodological approach employed in this book is influenced by Mieczyslaw Tomaszewski’s method of integral interpretation. The operas analyzed in this monograph, written from 1976 onwards, represent a watershed in twentieth-century American opera, characterised by three main aspects: firstly, creation of video-opera, represented by the works of Steve Reich, secondly, creation of a new kind of opera based on topics related to contemporary events that are manifested with documentary fidelity, represented by works of John Adams, and lastly, the introduction of a new genre: a portrait opera, characteristic for the works of Philip Glass.

Jerzy Grotowski and the «Laboratory Theatre» presented his famous performance «The Constant Prince» to Iranian audiences in 1970 during the Shiraz Art Festival and in Teheran. Jerzy Grotowski travelled to Iran four times and his fifth journey, which was supposed to include «Apocalypsis Cum Figuris» as well as «Desert Project» had been thoroughly planned but never happened. Although Grotowski had not talked too much about his travels to Iran, his influence on Iranian artists during three generations is quite obvious. The author gathered many documents and conducted interviews for this in-depth study pursuing the fundamental questions of his research: How was Grotowski’s work received in Iran and in what way did he influence theatre artists in Iran?

The author of the book analyses selected 19th-century operas based on Shakespeare’s plays from the perspective of their relations to the literature, aesthetics and philosophy of the Romantic period. The texts discussed here include Verdi’s Macbeth, Otello and Falstaff, Rossini’s Otello, Halévy’s The Tempest, Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet and Thomas’s Hamlet. The study aims to indicate diverse traces of the Romantic interpretation of Shakespeare’s works in the history of the 19th-century opera. Individual chapters present the librettos of the selected operas, analysed in the context of Shakespeare’s plays and their 19th-century reception, reconstructed on the basis of 19th-century historic-literary texts (of, among others, A. W. Schlegel, L. Tieck and V. Hugo), critical studies and press articles. The analyses conducted in the book succeed in presenting the evolution of the phenomenon of Romantic Shakespeareanism in the 19th-century opera theatre.

The last decade was an exceptional period for the Icelandic cinema. The films produced during this time have won many prestigious awards at international festivals. Cinematic images of Iceland eclectically interlace myths, stereotypes and postmodern means of expression. At first glance, the local films obsessively repeat the same themes which might be incomprehensible for a foreign viewer. However, academic research on the most interesting motion pictures creates an opportunity to study the birth and development of small, but energetic and ambitious cinematography. Such an experience also allows analyzing problems related to the system of film production in this sparsely populated country and helps identify challenges during the process of introducing a local culture abroad. Finally, studying Icelandic cinema gives a chance to go on the audiovisual journey through the fascinating culture and unique landscapes. The author of the book analyses popular topics and narrative strategies in Icelandic films. The research covers local versions of black comedies, road movies and crime stories as well as different figures connected with the motif of struggle between tradition and modernity.

Running off the Anger. British New Wave includes several areas of research that suggest interpreting the cinema of the British New Wave in relation to social realism, the construction of the main characters, popular culture and the way New Wave played with film-making. Thanks to an in-depth analysis of key films of this trend, it is possible not only to understand the workings of social realism and examine character creation and their rebellion, but also to explore the intentionality of the utilising New Wave techniques that were known from nouvelle vague. The last chapter of this book is devoted to the most recent references to British New Wave Cinema.

The book shows the connections between Japanese historical avant-garde movements and new Japanese experimental films. The author provides insight into the development of Japanese avant-garde visual culture and experimental aesthetics, also featuring the expanded cinema after 2000. The author focuses on the detailed presentation of the chosen aspects, artists and films of the Japanese avant-garde from its origins to the post-2000 period. The analysis is built around themes, objectives and aesthetics introduced by such artists as Shūji Terayama, Takahiko Iimura, Masao Adachi, Takashi Itō, Toshio Matsumoto, Mako Idemitsu, Japanese feminist filmmakers, video artists and the new wave of experimenting independent directors: Takashi Makino, Rei Hayama, Shinkan Tamaki and Kazuhiro Goshima.

The monograph deals with chosen aspects of modern drama based on the output of three playwrights. It discusses the works of Beckett, Pinter and Stoppard in reference to their employment of the grotesque and the theatre of the absurd. Elements of the grotesque appear in political dramas of all three playwrights. While Beckett does not shy away from absurdity in his plays, some of the early dramas of Pinter and Stoppard present a general existential condition of man, even though their strictly political plays are basically realistic in respect to form, yet satirical in their content. Most of the political plays discussed portray the absurdity of totalitarian countries, stemming from the tragicomic discrepancy between what the authorities are saying they are doing and their actual actions.

The examination of the transcendentals of truth, beauty and the good in this book stems from the perspective of Christian humanism, transcending ourselves in moral psychology, and perfecting ourselves to attain the good life. These critical approaches are each pertinent to the search for meaning in our lives which the transcendentals augment. From such a perspective, the book engages in an exploration of the philosophy of culture and religion which at key points in the discussion draws upon ritual, works of high and especially popular culture. The truth that moves us closer to discovering meaning and a fuller humanity is largely found in the world and culture that surrounds us and is related to wisdom, which is something that concerns us all.

Kantor: Non/Presence is a unique work in theatre studies by a single author. The book far exceeds the framework set by its eponymous protagonist. Fazan reveals where following Tadeusz Kantor can lead and how radically the discourse of theater studies should be transformed in contact with his vast, heterogeneous oeuvre.Zbigniew Majchrowski, University of GdanskThe monumental monograph testifies not only to Fazan exceptional erudition but also her deep personal commitment to the study of Kantor’s oeuvre. Reaching far beyond theater studies, Fazan’s reference-rich analysis can be appreciated by those involved in art history, photography, stage design, architecture, and memory studies.Marcelina Obarska, Culture.pl

This study combines a literature review from a macro perspective and case studies from a micro perspective to reveal the communication and reception of Polish theatre in China, starting from the reception-end to explore the factors that influence the communication of Polish theatre. The literature review provides an overview of the development history and the current situation of Chinese modern theatre, and traces the communication footprint of Polish theatre in the hundred-year development of Chinese theatre on a timeline. The selection of case studies considers two perspectives: theatrical theory, and theatrical productions. Thus, the theatrical concepts of Polish theatre master Jerzy Grotowski and three Polish/Sino-Polish theatrical productions performed on the Chinese theatre stage since the second decade of the new century are selected for study. This study also explores various topics around theatre and cross-cultural communication, such as theater ecology and development, theatrical creation, actors, audience reception, appropriation of cultural resources and cultural tolerance, mediation of values at the reception-end, and the role of language, translation and new media in cross-cultural communication.

This book presents an interdisciplinary investigation into the emergence of the actor and theater. Scholarship helps us to realize how we have evolved to who we are today and to understand the transformative power of performance. The author proposes to boost and advance theater studies by reviewing new research in anthropology, archaeology, paleoanthropology, classics, ethnography, physics, cognitive science, neuroscience, theater anthropology and performance studies. Referring to his fieldwork in Bali and Tibet, and to his professional experience in theater, the author explains the role of bipedality, toolmaking and trance in the evolution of the performer, examines the performativity of space and writing, and argues that ancient culture emerged from dance.