Karol Wojtyla, better known to the world as Pope John Paul II, devoted a good deal of his early manhood pursing a career in the theatre. While his chief interest was acting, he also began to write plays. They grew out of his experiences with Mieczyslaw Kotlarczk and the Rhapsodic Theatre. The group began performing clandestinely during the Nazi occupation of Poland as a way of preserving their national literature. They strove to create a uniquely Polish theatre, a "theatre of imagination, a theatre of the inner self." This striving is very much at the core of Wojtyla's plays.
These plays open a window into pivotal moments in the history of the 20th Century and explore conflicts, ideas, religious insights, and nationalistic yearnings that shaped the unique vision of a man who transformed our world forever.
The festival includes the following three plays: God's Brother, The Jeweler's Shop and Jeremiah and tickets are only $20. City-living definitely has its perks! I saw this same troupe stage an adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce earlier this year that I thought was very good (they even had our heroine and her friends on stage for a short period of time!).
I'm so excited about this festival I need to go have a waffle.
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