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In Polish drama published after 1989, everyday life is often presented as the fundamental measure of the heroes’ existence. The authors present the changes in the everyday life order, they underline oppressive and overwhelming character of common experiences, they present difficult, aggressive interpersonal relations. For example, in many texts the unavoidable elements of the everyday life of the heroes are negligence, harms and even crimes. This way of representing everyday life, usually based on traditional mimetic techniques, does not create an idyllic image of everyday life.

The disintegration of character in recent Polish drama is closely related to identity crisis and the ensuing negation of the basis and integrity of one's sense of self. A character can hardly be analysed as a person – more often than not, it resembles a linguistic or textual entity rather than a human being. The persona is replaced by a voice or a polyphonic collective body – a choir. In the dramatic works of contemporary Polish playwrights such as M. Koterski, M. Bieliński, M. Modzelewski, L. Amejko or D. Masłowska these forms can be realized as either a fragmented subject split into aspects that cannot be reconciled, or as the subject's external reality, which they perceive as fragmented, incomprehensible and hostile.

Adaptation of different literary texts is one of the important practices in Polish contemporary theatre after 1989. Adaptations are being undertaken by the creators of the authorial theatres, directors of the repertory theatres and young artists who began their professional career in the theatre in the late nineties and after a year 2000. The article discusses three different types of adaptory practices. Krystian Lupa's adaptations are a kind of creative dialogue with literature that becomes a base for individual and evolving esthetics of his own theatre. Krzysztof Warlikowski struggles with the tradition and exceeds it. Directors representing critical theatre use classical dramatical and epic texts to build a dialectical discourse with Polish “ready­made world”.

The article concerns contemporary Polish theatre, and particularly the creativity of young directors who are in their thirties: Monika Pęcikiewicz, Monika Strzępka and Wiktor Rubin who give up the traditional theatre and mingle with mass and popular culture. The article also focuses on the problem of reception, because theatrical performances, distancing themselves from the traditional ones, still cause emotional reactions of conservative spectators who often feel shocked and offended by such theatre. Such performances ignore the hegemony of dramatical text – they deconstruct cause and effect order of narration, confront text with contemporary context, they are incoherent; they use new media to contact with a spectator by acting that is based on quoting a character and constant balancing between theatrical performance and private life.

The article is an attempt to describe the function of music in contemporary Polish dramatic theatre. The author of the text refers to the art of Polish theatre directors and composers in order to show that music in dramatic theatre is not only an illustration or a signal. The article analyses the compositions that were written for particular performances, as well as borrowed compositions which are musical citations.

Polish cabaret, while being inspired by European ancestors, has been evolving over years. It served many purposes, searched for new means of expression. The article presents significant stages of its evolution, which serves as the main context for describing the expansion of contemporary types of cabaret that have been developed under the influence of new media and culture that concentrates on entertainment. Rich cabaret life and significant presence of cabaret programs on TV provokes question concerning the identity of cabaret. An answer to such question enables understanding the reasons of its attractiveness and its presence in different means of popular culture.

The article compares two groups of ‘women’s’ drama, one written during the inter­war period, the other after the changes of 1989. On the one hand, the analysis presents the image of family emerging in these two groups of plays from a feminist perspective. On the other hand, the article raises the question of their form, since it so strongly influences the reception of these works. A comparison of plays written after 1989 with those created during the inter­war period demonstrates the historical continuity of family issues that have not been solved till present day. Concurrently, in terms of form, it shows that combining traditional elements with innovative ones leads to the greatest dramatic effectiveness. 

The article is dedicated to Czesław Miłosz's essay Tiger, analysing the heterodox discourses that it contains, especially the political gnosis. The author analyses the connections between such discourses and the notions of deep crisis of European culture, showing also how Miłosz solved the dialectic argument with his friend Tadeusz Juliusz Kroński, a Hegelian philosopher. Miłosz's solution enabled him to give up both Gnostic catastrophism and a temptation of hermetic utopia by Kroński. Towards the end of the essay the history of mankind regains its value and it is being reintegrated as a history of Salvation.

The theme of the article is multi­facted description of Czesław Miłosz's long lasting fascination by the person and deeds of his distant relative Oskar de Lubicz Miłosz. The two poets met for the first time in Paris in 1931. Ever since then Miłosz being impressed by poetic and dramatical works of his uncle, attempted to popularize them among the readers in Poland and abroad. He wrote essays about him and translated his French poems into English and Polish. The crowning of this process was a poem Czeladnik (A Journeyman) (from a volume Druga przestrzeń, 2004) and a poem Dobroć (Goodness) – according to Agnieszka Kosińska the very last poem completed by Miłosz before his death.

The article is dedicated to culinary practices in Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz's drama. They are considered in relation to the idea of metaphysical insatiability and a “creative hunger” of exceptional individuality. Culinary tastes that dominate in Witkacy's writings are being analysed on the bases of the critical approaches of Lévi Strauss and Barthes as well as Malinowski's important works on cultural anthropology (Argonauts of the Western Pacific, 1922; The Sexual Life of Savages in North­Western Melanesia, 1929). The article concentrates also on the works of some well­known representatives of the inter­war period (Čapek, Schulz, Kafka) that are relevant to the subject.

Australia has never became a popular topic in Polish literature. However, it was present in Polish writings since the Age of Enlightenment. The aim of the text is to analyse different ways in which Australian motifs were used in different literary works.

The article refers to the works by Tomasz Stępień, Adam Kulawik and some other scholars who described the genesis of Gałczyński’s poem Serwus madonna. This lyric was written for Natalia Gałczyńska but after the adjustments made by Stanisław Piasecki it became a religious poem. The author explains the reason of misunderstandings and the meaning of the word ‘madonna’ which was incorporated into Polish from Italian in 19th century and had two meanings: secular and religious. The poet followed the advice of the editor of “Prosto z mostu” and accepted his adjustments in the meaning of the poem.

The article presents the most important and the most interesting prose and poetic works published in 2010. Most of them were written by well known authors. The ones that particularly deserve mentioning are Balladyny i romanse by I. Karpowicz, Da capo by J. Franczak, Dziennik pisany później by A. Stasiuk, Spiski by W. Kuczok, Miasto Szklanych Słoni by M. Sieniewicz, Wąż w kaplicy by T. Piątek, Ziemia nod by R. Kobierski, Do rozpuku by A. Mirahina, Dywan by A. Wiedemann, Koncentrat by K. Siwczyk, Nocne życie by B. Zadura, poems by A. Sosnowski and Pół by M. Sendecki.

The article presents another summary of film events in a year 2010. Films that can be found here are: Benek, directed by Robert Gliński, and concerning Silesian subject, Chrzest (The Christening) second film by young Polish director Marcin Wrona, Czarny czwartek (Black Thursday) which tells the story of the strikes in 1970, and Joanna by Feliks Falk that offers a new perspective on the Second World War. Besides these, some other descriptions of the films that were released in 2010 or in the beginning of 2011 can be found here: Matka Teresa od kotów (Mother Teresa of Cats), Młyn i krzyż (Mill and the Cross), Och, Karol 2, Różyczka (Little Rose), Sala samobójców (Suicide Room), Skrzydlate świnie (Winged Pigs) and Weekend. The author comments the most famous films of the season viewing them through the eyes of a foreigner who may be interested in watching them.

In 2010 some domination of musical and opera theatres over dtramatic ones could be observed, as these institutions managed Polish theatrical life in the most interesting way. Pasażerka (The Passenger) by M. Weinberg directed by D. Pountney and Traviata by G. Verdi directed by M. Treliński in Teatr Wielki were spectacles that again demonstrated the importance of this growing rank of theatrical life. Premieres of Nędznicy (Les Misérables) by C.­M. Schönberg directed by W. Kępczyński in Musical Theatre Roma in Warsaw and Lalka (The Doll) of B. Prus, directed by W. Kościelniak in Musical Theatre in Gdynia presented two types of musical theatre in Poland: the entertaining and sophistically artistic ones. In 2010 some premieres were presented by the most famous Polish directors: K. Lupa (Persona. Ciało Simone) and K. Warlikowski (Koniec). T. Słobodzianek's drama Nasza klasa (Our Class) was awarded Nike Literary Prize. Some interesting events also took place in private theatres (Sprzedawcy gumek (The Rubber Merchants) by H. Levin directed by A. Tyszkiewicz in Theatre IMKA in Warsaw) and so­called 'minor centers' (Był sobie Andrzej, Andrzej, Andrzej i Andrzej by Strzępka and Demirski in the theatre in Wałbrzych).

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