ISBN 978-1-945938-66-5, hardcover, 312 pages, $60.00
"Dramaty Zebrane. Collected Plays. Teatr Niezgody. The Theater of Discord" is the second volume of a collection of dramas by Kazimierz Braun. It contains five plays in Polish and English recounting stories about people who did not agree to enslavement, to restraining human freedom in both spiritual and practical dimensions, including political considerations. "The Wind of Independence" presents the struggle for the liberation of the city of Tarnów from the unwanted rule of Austria in 1918, when Poland regained its independence after 123 years of being divided between Austria, Russia and Prussia. The author's family played a vital role in the independence movement in Tarnów.
The play "Lanckorońska" tells the story of Karolina Lanckorońska’s opposition to totalitarian regimes—the Soviet’s and the Nazis’—during World War II. The heroine, a noted art historian and a Polish patriot of the highest ethical standards, became a soldier in the underground Polish Home Army and was incarcerated by both hostile invaders.
"The Internees" and "The Boycott" are a testimony to the resistance of Poles against the introduction of martial law in 1981, a totalitarian action ostensibly designed to protect the country from a potential Soviet invasion, but actually having a purpose of destroying the anti-communist opposition and ending the peaceful revolution of the Solidarity movement. Both plays present a range of moral choices made by their protagonists, including heroes and cowards, patriots and traitors.
Finally, "The Quarantine" depicts the resistance to the enslavement imposed on people in the times of the so-called global “pandemic” of the 2020s, that was nothing but a global power grab by enemies of humanity. While focusing on different periods of Polish history, "The Boycott" and "The Quarantine" portray moral dilemmas and difficult choices to be made by actors, faced with options of resisting or succumbing to economic and political challenges imposed on their careers by totalitarian government policies.
Kazimierz Braun is a director, writer and theater historian. He studied Polish Literature and Directing. He earned his doctorate at the University of Poznań, and his habilitation at the University of Wrocław; he also obtained a habilitation in directing at the State Drama School in Warsaw. He holds the title of full professor both in Poland and the United States. He directed over 150 theater productions in Poland—in theaters in Gdańsk, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Tarnów, Toruń, Warsaw—and in the USA, Canada, Germany, Ireland, and other countries. He was the Artistic Director and General Manager of the City Theater of J. Osterwa in Lublin and the Contemporary Theater in Wrocław. He lectured at the universities in Poland and the United States, including the University of Wrocław, Drama School Kraków-Wrocław, University of California, City University of New York, New York University, University at Buffalo. He is the author of over 70 books on the history and practice of theater, as well as novels, poetry and dramas published in several languages. His dramas were produced in Poland, the USA, Canada. and Ireland. He has received a number of artistic, literary and scholarly awards, including awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, Turzański Foundation, Japanese Foundation, and the London Prize for Literature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SPIS TREŚCI
Teatr niezgody—————————————— 1
Wiatr Niepodległości ———————————— 3
Postscriptum: Powrót do domu ——————— 25
Lanckorońska —————————————— 27
Internowani. Zły Sen ——————————— 55
Bojkot. Dramat w dwóch częściach ————— 85
Kwarantanna —————————————— 125
Nota o autorze ————————————— 305
CONTENTS
Theater of Discord ————————————— 151
Wind of Independence ——————————— 153
Postscript: Returning Home ————————— 176
Lanckorońska ———— —————————— 179
Internees. A Nightmare——————————— 208
Boycott. Drama in Two Parts ———————— 239
Quarantine ————————————————279
Note About the Author ——————————— 305
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