Grzegorz Jarzyna - head and artistic director of TR Warszawa

General and Artistic Director of TR Warszawa, theatre director

Grzegorz Jarzyna, born in 1968 in Chorzów, is one of the best known Polish stage directors who revolutionized Polish theatre. He graduated in philosophy from the Jagiellonian University and in theatre direction from the Ludwik Solski State Theatre School (PWST) in Krakow. Since 1998 he has been the Artistic Director of TR Warszawa (former Teatr Rozmaitości) – one of the most innovative stages in Poland; since 2006 also its General Director.

Jarzyna is famous for his bold reinterpretations of classical plays (Tropical Madness based on Witkacy’s dramas, Magnetism of the Heart based on the play Maidens’ Vows by Aleksander Fredro), adaptations of great european novels (Doctor Faustus by Tomas Mann, Prince Myshkin based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot) provocative contemporary texts (Unidentified Human Remains by Brad Fraser, 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane in Warsaw and Düsseldorf) and operas (The Gambler in Opera de Lyon, The child and the Spells by Maurice Ravel and Dwarf by Alexander Zemlinsky in The Bavarian State Opera). He is fascinated with mixing and transgressing generic conventions, which can be best seen in productions such as 2007: Macbeth based on Shakespeare’s play (2005) played simultaneously on four different sets or Giovanni based on Don Giovanni by Wolfgang A. Mozart and Don Juan by Molière – an original combination of opera and dramatic theatre.

His worldwide reputation was established thanks to guest appearances of his performances inside and outside of Europe in places such as: Avignon, Edinburgh, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Jerusalem, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Stockholm, London, Dublin, Toronto and Los Angeles. In June 2008 2007: Macbeth was presented in New York under the Brooklyn Bridge, where a special stage was created particularly for that production.

Jarzyna wrote several stage adaptations, two plays (Medea Project and Areteia) and two librettos for Zygmunt Krauze’s operas (Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy and The Trap). He also prepared a few television productions: Tropical Madness based on Witkacy, The Story based on Witold Gombrowicz and a television version of his performance 2007: Macbeth.

He received numerous awards and recognitions for his work such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs Merit Award for exceptional international artistic merits (2002) and the Golden Order of Saint Petersburg at the 300th anniversary celebration (2004). In 2007 he was awarded Nestor-Preis, one of the most prestigious prizes in the German-speaking region, for Medea staged in Burgtheater in Vienna (2006). He also received twice the Konrad Swinarski Award for Best Director (1999 and 2009).

Grzegorz Jarzyna has been one of the six european artists invited to participate in the project „Odyssey Europa”, part of the programme The European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010. His latest performances are: T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T. based on the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini, No Matter How Hard We Tried by Dorota Masłowska presented for the first time in Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin and Nosferatu inspired by Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.