ABSTRACT

This chapter examines four of Tadeusz Kantor's key theatre pieces created between 1975 and 1989 – The Dead Class, Wielopole, Wielopole, Let the Artists Die and I Shall Never Return. A performance of The Dead Class was filmed in the Krzysztofory gallery in Krakow in 1976 by the great Polish film-maker Andrejz Wajda, thus providing the format in which most people can see the piece today. Choreographers have often been meticulous in their documentation for revival purposes, having evolved notation systems which enable us to reconstruct performances. There was some confusion over this passage, which was Andrejz Wajda's attempt, one assumes, to introduce an element of the film-maker's interpretive art and to give the filmed performance some extra dimension. Kantor conducts this as if it were being rehearsed for a special performance. The turmoil continues, and Kantor chases the performers out of the space; the Beadle's dummy is taken away, leaving only the dummies in the school seats.