polski

The Prince

Karol Radziszewski
Książę
Poland 2014 / 71’

Say something about Jerzy Grotowski as a person? Has he not already been completely consumed by myth? Karol Radziszewski loves to rewrite the Polish history of art, questioning the canonical truth. The Prince is an attempt to take another look at Grotowski – through the prism of the actors from the Laboratorium troupe, Ryszard Cieślak in particular. His role in The Constant Prince was a breakthrough for him. Without it, Grotowski would not have become such a radical regarding the body. Radziszewski reconstructs Cieślak’s biography on the basis of surviving fragments of performances, recordings of rehearsals, letters, and interviews. He hires a group of young men and tasks with attempting the famous final scene from The Constant Prince. However, the myth of the creative genius of the Grotowski-Cieślak duo is really broken down once Teresa Nawrot is brought into the story. The actress, who was Grotowski's long-time assistant and Cieślak’s lover, sheds some light on the intimate secrets of the Teatr Laboratorium. Neither film nor play, The Prince is theater recorded on camera based on archival materials and, at the same time, improvised and played out. The creators have dubbed this new type of performance a "video theater."

Karol Radziszewski

Karol Radziszewski (born in 1980) is a Polish visual, installation, and video artist, author of interdisciplinary projects, director, and editor in chief of ‘DIK Fagazine’. He received the ‘Polityka’ magazine’s prize in 2009 as one of Poland’s most promising talents. His video pieces have been presented at the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival and he recently debuted as a documentary film director with the film Kisieland. Karol has taken part in numerous individual and group exhibitions throughout the world.

Selected filmography

2007 Painters (video, short)

2010 Sebastian (video, short)

2011 Backstage (video, short)

2012 Kisieland (doc.)

2012 MS 101

Credits

director Karol Radziszewski
screenplay Dorota Sajewska
cinematography Michał Stajniak
editing Marek Sobolewski
sound Kamil Radziszewski
cast Klara Bielawka, Maria Maj, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Paweł Tomaszewski, Teresa Nawrot
producer Karol Radziszewski
sales Karol Radziszewski
language Polish