The Prince
directed by Karol Radziszewski
stage design by Dorota Sajewska
starring: Klara Bielawka, Maria Maj, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Paweł Tomaszewski, Teresa Nawrot
production year: 2014
duration: 71 min
Are we able to say anything about Jerzy Grotowski as a person? Or has he been entirely dominated by his own myth? Karol Radziszewski loves to rewrite Polish art history, defying canonical truths. The Prince is an attempt at casting a sideways glance at Grotowski: through the eyes of actors from the Laboratory Theatre, in particular Ryszard Cieślak. His role in The Constant Prince was a breakthrough. Without him, Grotowski would not have become so radical towards the body. Radziszewski reconstructs Cieślak’s biography based on fragments of preserved productions, recordings of trainings, letters, and interviews. He employs a group of young men, who are to try their hand at the famous final scene of The Constant Prince. However, the myth of the ingenious creative duo of Grotowski and Cieślak is only deconstructed by introducing Teresa Nawrot into the narrative. The actor, who served as Grotowski’s assistant for many years and was Cieślak’s lover, reveals the intimate behind-the-scenes story of the Laboratory Theatre. The Prince is neither a film nor a stage production – it is theatre recorded by a camera, based on archive materials, at the same time played and improvised. The new form was dubbed “video theatre” by its authors.
Karol Radziszewski (b.1980) is a filmmaker, photographer, author of installations and interdisciplinary projects. He graduated from the Faculty of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He is the publisher and editor-in-chief of DIK Fagazine. He founded the Queer Archives Institute. In 2009, he won the Passport Award of Polityka weekly. His works have been shown, among others, in Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, Contemporary Museum Wrocław, National Museum in Warsaw, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Kunsthalle Wien, New Museum in New York, Cobra Museum in Amsterdam and at the PERFORMA 13 Biennale in New York, 7th Göteborg Biennale, 4th Prague Biennale, New York Photo Festival and 15th WRO Media Art Biennale.