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After Poland joined the European Union in 2004, a new wave of playwriting emerged in response to changing social realities. Natasha Oxley investigates twelve plays which were written during the first decade of Polish EU membership, by key playwrights Paweł Demirski, Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk, Dorota Masłowska, and Przemysław Wojcieszek. The analysis reveals a prominence of non-naturalistic approaches and the importance of humour, even when addressing heavy issues. Three major themes are contextualized and evidenced through examples from the plays: dealing with Poland’s past in the present, the human body, and social marginalization in contemporary Polish society.
‘represents a solid knowledge of Polish historical and cultural background, including references to [the] country’s most recent political events and their impact on Poland. It discusses key concerns such as historical narratives, national identity and memory, human rights, gender politics as well as dramatic conventions utilized to convey these concerns on modern Polish stages.’
Elwire Grossman, University of Glasgow
‘focused, interesting, readable and well researched. It brings new material into English language circulation in a well-argued and fully evidenced way.’
Paul Allain, University of Kent
Natasha Oxley is a Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer in drama at the University of Greenwich. She holds a doctorate in Contemporary Polish Playwriting from the University of Oxford and has co-translated Polish plays into English. The founder and Artistic Director of a London-based theatre company, she directed the first UK staged reading of Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk’s 'The Suitcase' at Greenwich Theatre.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Notes on Text
Introduction. Setting the Scene
Chapter 1. Past Present: Remembering Versus Forgetting
Chapter 2. The Human Body: Site of the Past, Signifier of Sameness
Chapter 3. Moving the Margins: Othered Protagonists
Chapter 4. In the Rubble of the Fourth Wall: Dramatic Techniques
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index