Intervention, Education, Democracy: Theatre Criticism of the Interwar Period

Abstract

The article focuses on three figures important for theatrical criticism of the interwar period: Witold Wandurski, Józef Jarema, and Adam Polewka. They were not only creators of important dramatic and theatrical projects of the 1920s and 1930s, but also authors who actively participated in the contemporary theater criticism discussions. Their critical-theatrical statements allow us to perceive a very characteristic and hitherto undescribed convergence of avant-garde projects and those stemming from the idea of democratizing art. Observations regarding the interventionist and educational potential of drama and theater during the interwar period lead to the conclusion that the center of thinking about the democratization of theatrical art lay not in the subject matter or presentation style, but in the project of a new spectator.