Jerzy Jarocki (11 May 1929 – 10 October 2012) was a Polish

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and academic, member of the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning ( pl, Polska Akademia Umiejętności), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of scien ...

Biography

He graduated in acting from the

Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts Ludwik () is a Polish given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ludwik Czyżewski, Polish WWII general * Ludwik Fleck (1896–1961), Polish medical doctor and biologist * Ludwik Gintel (1899–1973), Polish-Israeli Olympic soccer player ...

and later in directing from the

Russian Academy of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, ...

. He debuted in 1957, directing an adaptation of the play ''Bal manekinów'' by

Bruno Jasieński Bruno Jasieński , born Wiktor Bruno Zysman (17 July 1901 – 17 September 1938), was a Polish poet, novelist, playwright, Catastrophist, and leader of the Polish Futurist movement in the interwar period.Dr Feliks TomaszewskiBruno Jasieński. Biog ...

Silesian Theatre Silesian Theatre ( pl, Teatr Śląski) dedicated to Stanisław Wyspiański is the largest theatre in Silesia. It is located on the market square in Katowice. It was built as "German Theatre" in the years 1905–1907, from plans by German theatr ...

. Since 1961 he worked as a regular director for

National Stary Theatre The Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theater in Kraków (Polish: ''Narodowy Stary Teatr im. Heleny Modrzejewskiej'') is one of the oldest public stages in Poland and a national institution of culture, first opened in 1781. It was named after re ...

in Kraków, where on 21 July 1961, he first presented an adaptation of

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois chara ...

's ''Château en Suède''. Jarocki also directed plays for

Polish Theatre in Wrocław Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

and Dramatic Theatre of the Capital City of Warsaw. He mostly looked for an inspiration in

contemporary literature Contemporary literature is literature which is generally set after World War II in the English-speaking world. Subgenres of contemporary literature include contemporary romance. History Literary movements are always contemporary to the writer dis ...

, among his favourite authors were

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...

Sławomir Mrożek Sławomir Mrożek (29 June 1930 – 15 August 2013) was a Polish dramatist, writer and cartoonist. Mrożek joined the Polish United Workers' Party during the reign of Stalinism in the People's Republic of Poland, and made a living as a politica ...

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (; 24 February 188518 September 1939), commonly known as Witkacy, was a Polish writer, painter, philosopher, theorist, playwright, novelist, and photographer active before World War I and during the interwar period. ...

Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his f ...

Tadeusz Różewicz Tadeusz Różewicz (9 October 1921 – 24 April 2014) was a Polish poet, playwright, writer, and translator. Różewicz was in the first generation of Polish writers born after Poland regained its independence in 1918, following the century of f ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

and

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...

. Jarocki was a lecturer at Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts since 1966. Since 1991 he owned the title of academic professor. Since 1994 he was also a member of the Polish Academy of Learning. In 1967 he received a Schiller Award for achievements in theatre directing, especially for directing Polish contemporary plays in years 1965–67. In 1968 Jarocki was decorated with Gold Cross of Merit. In 1971 he was awarded by the Minister of Culture of Poland and in 1974 he received Knight's Cross of the Polonia Restituta. In 1977 he received Konrad Swinarski Award for directing ''King Lear'' at Dramatic Theatre of Warsaw. In 1984 Jarocki received Witkacy Prize - Critics' Circle Award. Jarocki was decorated with Officier's Cross of the Polonia Restituta in 1987 and with Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis in 2007. In 2000 Jagiellonian University distinguished him with an ''honoris causa'' degree.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarocki, Jerzy Polish theatre directors Members of the Polish Academy of Learning Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis 1929 births 2012 deaths Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery Recipient of the Meritorious Activist of Culture badge