Jerzy Grotowski

Jerzy Grotowski (1933–1999) was a Polish theatre director and theorist. After studying acting in Kraków, he studied theatre direction there from 1956 to 1960 and in Moscow engaged with, among other influences, Stanislavski’s acting method and Meyerhold’s biomechanics. He gained international recognition through his training and productions at the Teatr 13 Rzędów, founded in Opole in 1959, and later at the Theatre Laboratory in Wrocław. Through his concept of “poor theatre,” which dispensed with elaborate scenery and equipment, he placed the actor’s physical and psychological work at the centre of theatrical practice.