Teatr „Bagatela” – królestwo farsy (1919–1926)

Abstract

THE BAGATELA THEATRE – THE KINGDOM OF FARCE (1919–1926)

The Bagatela Theatre opened on October 25, 1919, following the initiative of Marian Dąbrowski. The new playhouse was established on the corner of Karmelicka Street and Krupnicza Street and had been planned as a venue for entertainment and merriment, thus, comedy was the favourite genre there – light comedies with simple plots, as well as farces were among the most popular plays staged at the Bagatela. However, we must admit that a number of more ambitious performances (e.g. of G. B. Shaw’s The Doctor’s Dilemma, Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, Jerzy Szaniawski’s Papierowy kochanek – “The Paper Lover” or S. Ansky’s The Dybbuk) also appeared on that stage. One of the theatre’s merits were its ambitious actors who matured under the influence of good directors and the stars of Warsaw theatre who gave guest performances there. We may venture to say that a particularly close-knit theatre company specializing in comedies and farces evolved at the Bagatela in that period. The actors presented excellent performances sparkling with situational and verbal humour played with incredible lightness and all at the right pace. Simplicity and moderation were the team’s major virtues, while overacting and cheap effects were stigmatized. That theatre troupe surely did not deserve the name of “knockabout theatre”, and included such outstanding actresses as Maria Malicka and Maria Modzelewska who polished their technique there, only to achieve national fame later on. By becoming an intriguing, ambiguous phenomenon – a theatre were both comedies and the more serious plays where staged – the Bagatela caused a lot of unrest in the Kraków theatre circles. The paper presents a survey of the repertoires of the theatre seasons at the Bagatela, an analysis of acting techniques and the achievements of individual actors with the aim to discuss the policy of the theatre and its influence on the art of acting in Kraków.