Henryk Tomaszewski (actor)
Henryk Tomaszewski (born November 20, 1919 in Poznań , † September 23, 2001 in Kowary ) was a Polish pantomime artist , dancer , actor , choreographer , director and author . He founded the in February 1956 Pantomime Theater in Wroclaw ( Breslau ), shall take Jerzy Grotowski as one of the greatest artists of Polish theater of the 20th century.
Life
As a child of a German-Polish family and the resulting bilingualism, he was able to move freely in both cultural areas, which was reflected in the choice of his fabrics. "I only know today how much I have drawn from this dual culture," he once said.
Henryk Tomaszewski studied in the Dramatic Studio of Iwo Gall and in the Ballet Studio of Feliks Parnell in Krakow after the Second World War . He began his stage career as a dancer at the Breslau Opera. In 1955 he organized the pantomime studio in Breslau as a loose theater group , which three years later was transformed into an independent and professional theater and has been the Breslau pantomime theater since 1959 (of which he was director until shortly before his death). But he was also active in other theaters in Poland, such as the Polish Theater in Breslau and the Teatr im. Cypriana Kamila Norwida w Jeleniej Górze , in the Polish Theater in Poznan and others. Since 1957 he has made guest appearances all over the world.
Initially skits , they soon turned into evening productions for which he needed a larger, well-trained ensemble. The dance was always very strong, but later he also used spoken and sung words. Most of his stage works were influenced by world literature: "In art I am interested in such situations when it seems to us that there is a definitive solution, we already know everything, but in the meantime the possibility of another punch line, another solution emerges", he said of his choice of fabric.
Stanisław Brzozowski was one of his students .
Between 1960 and 1966, Tomaszewski is said to have passed on the activities of his friends and colleagues to the Polish intelligence service Służba Bezpieczeństwa (SB). However, it is considered proven that he did not do this voluntarily, but was blackmailed for it.
Performances
- 1958 (?) The coat after Gogol
- 1959 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame after Victor Hugo
- 1963 The labyrinth
- 1966 The dress based on Japanese motifs
- 1966 The love garden
- 1968 Gilgamesh
- 1970 Faust's journey into hell (music: Hector Berlioz )
- 1971 The November Night's Dream according to Stanisław Wyspiański
- 1972 Empress Fillissa's menagerie after Frank Wedekind (not yet translated in Poland)
- 1973/74 I'm coming to Euripides / Pasolini tomorrow
Awards
- Winner of the Polish State Prize
- 1962: two prizes at the Theater of Nations
- 1993: Silesian Culture Prize of the State of Lower Saxony (special prize)
- 1995: Honorary Citizen of Wroclaw
- 1996: Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Trivia
During his life, Henryk Tomaszewski was a collector of toys, especially dolls. In 1994 he bequeathed his collection to the city of Karpacz , which then set up a doll and toy museum.
literature
- Andrzej Hausbrandt: Tomaszewski's Mime Theater . Interpress 1975.
Web links
- Wrocławski Teatr Pantomimy (Polish or English)
- Henryk Tomaszewski on Culture.pl (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Biuletyn Kulturalny / Bulletin Kultur 40 (131)
- ^ "Henryk Tomaszewski worked together with SB" , Gazeta Wyborcza, May 9, 2007 (Polish)
- ↑ Source for this section: Theaterlexikon . Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978
- ↑ Portal www.wroclaw.pl: List of Honorary Citizens (Polish)
- ↑ Toy Museum in Karpacz (Polish)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tomaszewski, Henryk |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Polish actor and mime artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 20, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Poznań |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 23, 2001 |
| Place of death | Kowary |