Jerzy Grotowski

Jerzy Grotowski was a Polish theatre director and theorist who developed poor theatre, centering performance on actors’ work and the audience relationship rather than elaborate scenery or technology.

Poor theatre: A theatre practice that strips away production elements to focus on actors and the audience. Grotowski named and developed this approach as an alternative to technologically elaborate theatre.
Grotowski's actor training: A demanding training practice developed at the Laboratory Theatre to expand actors’ physical and vocal capacities. Training prepared actors for the precision and exposure poor theatre demanded.
Teatr 13 Rzędów: The Opole theatre company Grotowski directed from 1959, later renamed the Theatre of 13 Rows. This company was the institutional starting point for his theatrical experiments.
Theatre anthropology: The comparative study of recurring principles of performer training and stage presence across theatrical traditions. Grotowski’s research and practice helped shape this cross-cultural study of performance.
Via negativa: An approach to actor training that removes physical and mental blocks rather than accumulating techniques. Grotowski used this principle to describe how actors could reach expressive precision.
The Constant Prince: A 1965 Laboratory Theatre production adapted from Juliusz Słowacki’s play, featuring Ryszard Cieślak. The production became a defining demonstration of Grotowski’s actor-centered approach.
Laboratory Theatre: The Polish theatre company led by Grotowski, based in Wrocław after its move from Opole. Its long-term ensemble and research structure enabled Grotowski’s major productions and training work.
Thomas Richards: An American theatre practitioner who collaborated with Grotowski and continued his late performance research. Richards became Grotowski’s principal collaborator in the Art as Vehicle phase.
Holy Theatre: A theatrical ideal in which performance becomes an intense, transformative encounter between actors and spectators. Grotowski’s early work pursued theatre as a concentrated, almost ritual encounter.
Ryszard Cieślak: A Polish actor closely associated with Grotowski, especially for his performance in The Constant Prince. Cieślak’s work exemplified the physical and emotional demands of Grotowski’s theatre.

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