Ryszard cieslak biography template

(1937–1990), actor and director. Having completed his secondary education in Kalisz, Cieślak studied at Łódź and Krakow Polytechnics before joining the Puppetry Department at the Kraków State Drama Academy (PWST).

It was there that he became acquainted with Grotowski, who in 1961 (officially from 1 October) employed him at the Theatre of 13 Rows in Opole.

Ryszard cieslak biography template

Cieślak worked with this group until its dissolution in 1984.

The first performance in which he featured was Kordian, playing the combined roles of the Madman 1, Mephistoles, Grzegorz, the Priest and Imagination. Following this, he played Esau and Hector in Akropolis and Wagner, Valdes and Benvolio in Dr Faustus, with a notable performance of the scene depicting Benvolio’s madness (the crazed protagonist turned over heavy wooden tables and dais, something which required both great strength and also precision in order to avoid injuring the spectators sitting close by).

At the same time, as part of the Estrady Poetyckie (Poeti