Despite its international influence, Polish theatre remains a mystery to many Westerners. This volume attempts to fill in current gaps in English-language scholarship by offering a historical and critical analysis of two of the most influential works of Polish theatre: Jerzy Grotowski's 'Akropolis' and Tadeusz Kantor's 'Dead Class'. By examining each director's representation of Auschwitz, this study provides a new understanding of how translating national trauma through the prism of performance can alter and deflect the meaning and reception of theatrical works, both inside and outside of their cultural and historical contexts.

Foreword by Kathleen Cioffi; Preface; Acknowledgments; List of Illustrations; Introduction; PART I: OUR AUSCHWITZ: GROTOWSKI'S "AKROPOLIS"; Chapter 1: Jerzy Grotowski: A Very Short Introduction; Chapter 2: Native Son: Grotowski in Poland; Chapter 3: Grotowski: The Polish Context; Chapter 4: Grotowski, the Messiah: Coming to America; Chapter 5: The Making of an Aura; Chapter 6: On Not Knowing Polish; Chapter 7: "In Poland: That is to Say, Nowhere"; Chapter 8: "Akropolis"/Necropolis; Chapter 9: The Vision and the Symbol; Chapter 10: "This Drama as Drama Cannot Be Staged"; Chapter 11: Two National Sacrums; Chapter 12: "Hollow Sneering Laughter": Mourning the Columbuses; Chapter 13: Against Heroics; Chapter 14: Representing the Unrepresentable; Chapter 15: Trip to the Museum; Chapter 16: Bearing the Unbearable; Chapter 17: The Living and the Dead; Chapter 18: Jacob's Burden; Chapter 19: The Final Descent; Chapter 20: Textual Transpositions; Chapter 21: "Akropolis" After Grotowski; ILLUSTRATIONS; PART II: OUR MEMORY: KANTOR'S "DEAD CLASS"; Chapter 22: Tadeusz Kantor: A Very Short Introduction; Chapter 23: "Dead Class": The Making of the Legend; Chapter 24: "Dead Class" in Poland; Chapter 25: The Polish History Lesson; Chapter 26: "Dead Class" Abroad; Chapter 27: On Not Knowing Polish, Again; Chapter 28: The Visual and the Puerile; Chapter 29: The National and the Transnational; Chapter 30: Witkiewicz's Tumor; Chapter 31: An Age of Genius: Bruno Schulz and the Return to Childhood; Chapter 32: Conversing with Gombrowicz: The Dead, the Funny, the Sacred and the Profane; Chapter 33: Panirony: "A pain with a smile and a shrug"; Chapter 34: Raising the Dead; Chapter 35: "Dead Class" as Kaddish...; Chapter 36: "Dead Class" as "Dybbuk," or the Absence; Chapter 37: The Dead and the Marionettes; Chapter 38: Men and Objects; Chapter 39: "Dead Class" as "Forefathers' Eve"; Chapter 40: "Dead Class": The Afterlife; Postscript; Appendix: Table 1. Chronology of Events; Table 2. Comparison between Wyspiäski's "Akropolis" and "Genesis"; Table 3. Comparison between Grotowski and Kantor; Notes; Bibliography; Index 

Magda Romanska, with a Foreword by Kathleen Cioffi