Grotowski's India

Meeting around Koryna Dylewska's book “Indie Grotowski”, with the participation of: Author Nina Budziszewska, Piotr Rudzki, Katarzyna Woźniak-Shukur; moderated by Monika Blige

Koryna Dylewska's book “Grotowski's Indie” comprehensively describes the relationship between Grotowski and Indian tradition. Indian motifs, including interest in yoga and its consequences, ran throughout the artist's life. India — understood as a geographical area with its material and spiritual culture and as an imaginary land — was an important point of reference not only in artistic practice, but also in Grotowski's personal life. The author takes up a wide spectrum of Grotowski's connections with India: she describes his travels to India, both physical and spiritual; analyzes the staging of “Siakuntali” based on the drama Kalidasa at the 13 Rzedów Theater in Opole; discusses the multifaceted issue of the importance of yoga in the director's work (including the author's definition of yoga and its personal practice); fascinates with the Baul community, and follows Indian themes in Roman lectures and lectures given at the Collège de France.

As Dariusz Kosiński noted in his editorial review: “It is a fascinating read not only for a small group of people interested in Grotowski's biography and work today, and not only for — probably a much wider — circle of lovers of Indian culture, or — even wider — enthusiasts and practitioners of yoga, to which a significant part of the text is devoted. It is an excellent example of first-class humanistic writing, combining erudition, knowledge, meticulous archival research with the dynamics of narrative and inspiring insight of interpretations, concerning an issue that also fascinates all those directly concerned.” Therefore, the author of the publication Koryna Dylewska will be interviewed by specialists representing different areas: Nina Budziszewska — yogic breath trainer, indologist, long-time head of the Yoga Research Laboratory and Postgraduate Studies of Indian Yoga at the University of Wroclaw; Katarzyna Woźniak-Shukur — researcher in the field of Jerzy Grotowski and Teatr Laboratorium and Piotr Rudzki — head of the Department of Theory of Culture and Performing Arts at the University of Wrocław. The special guest of the meeting will be Eugenio Barba — founder of Odin Teatret, a creator constantly drawing inspiration from Indian culture, author of the book “The Moon Rises from Ganges: My Journey through Asian Acting Techniques”.

Publisher: Jerzy Grotowski Institute

Book available at: https://ksiegarnia.grotowski-institute.pl/produkt/indie-grotowskiego/

Excerpts from the review

“The publication is a truly innovative study and this is not changed by the fact that the topic “Grotowski and India” had previously been taken up by several researchers, including in the most elaborate and systematic way by Zbigniew Osiński. It was only with Dylewska that this issue was fundamental for understanding Grotowski's achievements and choices was presented in an extremely in-depth manner, based on solid Orientalist knowledge (mainly Indology), as well as cultural and theatrological knowledge, and at the same time going beyond dry factography and made available in combined with the interpretation of the artist's creative path.”

Excerpt from the editorial review of Prof. Grzegorz Ziółkowski

“It is certainly a work so multithreaded that both theatre practitioners and theorists, as well as those interested in India and the reception of Indian culture in Europe, will find a wealth of valuable material in it. It can be used to reflect both on the person and the work of Jerzy Grotowski, as well as on the complex issue of the exchange of values between cultures and civilizations.

Excerpt from Krzysztof Renik's review