19th-century Polish comedy staged in US
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
20.10.2017 12:03
The Upstream Theater in St. Louis, Missouri, has produced Sweet Revenge, a play by 19th-century Polish comedy writer Aleksander Fredro.
![Monument to Aleksander Fredro (1793-1876) in the southwestern Polish city of Wrocław. Photo: Lestat (Jan Mehlich [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://external.polskieradio.pl/files/fdc695bb-482f-44ba-a430-87121e15fb8f.file "Monument to Aleksander Fredro (1793-1876) in the southwestern Polish city of Wrocław. Photo: Lestat (Jan Mehlich [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons")
Monument to Aleksander Fredro (1793-1876) in the southwestern Polish city of Wrocław. Photo: Lestat (Jan Mehlich [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The play (Polish title: Zemsta) is described on the theatre’s website as “the finest Polish comedy ever written … a verse drama which uses Molière-like wit to poke fun of human follies … A sympathetic satire with a focus on tolerance.”
The play was translated into English and directed by Philip Boehm, the artistic director of the Upstream Theater, who studied at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw and has translated several plays and prose works by Polish authors.
Sweet Revenge, which opened at the St. Louis theatre on October 6 and closes on Sunday, October 22, has received favourable reviews, with comments such as “humor flows unabated ... a delightful slice of theater history” (Broadway World), “exciting, hilarious, and unpredictable!” (St. Louis Limelight), and “deliciously clever and unexpected ... a real treat” (Stage Door St. Louis).
Written in 1834, Fredro’s Sweet Revenge belongs to the canon of Polish literature. In 2002, it was made into a film by director Andrzej Wajda. (mk/gs)