Reduta. First Theatre Laboratory in Poland

Over its twenty-year activity, Reduta was the space for some extremely bold experiments, a breeding ground of acting talent and a school, a home for theatre crafts, as well as a community of people characterized by their complete devotion to the art of theatre, good work ethics, and social engagement. In the post-war years, they helped shape Polish theatre and educate subsequent generations of artists.

The name "Reduta" literally refers to the theatre’s headquarters in the Reduta Rooms (i.e. ball rooms). Metaphorically, “Reduta” refers to a military base, a defensive fortification, and brings to mind the memory of the heroic "Reduta Ordona" [Ordon’s Citadel] from Adam Mickiewicz’s poem. A white room with thirteen rows of white seats in the stalls and one row in the dress circle could seat an audience of 292.

Perfect for the parts of suitors and lovers, in 1910 Osterwa was employed in Warsaw by a farce company. However, two years later he moved to the Rozmaitości Theatre. There, he achieved recognition playing royal characters, such as Sigismund II Augustus in "Królewski Jedynak" [The Royal Only Child] and "Złote Więzy" [Golden Ties] by Lucjan Rydel, and as the Prince of Reichstadt in "L'Aiglon" [Eaglet] by Edmond Rostand. His fast moving career was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. In 1915, as a citizen of the Austrian empire, Osterwa was interned and transferred to central Russia. With his wife Wanda (née Malinowska), whom he had married in 1912, and their one-year-old daughter, Elżunia, Osterwa settled in Samara. Then in 1916, he went to Moscow where Arnold Szyfman has organised a Polish theatre company. There, he had an opportunity to meet Konstantin Stanislavski and see the work of the First Studio. Finally, he spent two years in Kiev (from August 1916 to August 1918). This "Eastern period" was an extremely significant time in Osterwa’s artistic life.

Osterwa did not terminate his theatrical activity, organizing shows for Polish audiences in Samara – together with Wincenty Drabik, he staged "Betlejem Polskie" [Polish Bethlehem] based on the motifs from the drama by Lucjan Rydel, with excerpts from "Pan Tadeusz" [Master Thaddeus] and "Wyzwolenie" [Liberation]. In Moscow, he directed a number of plays: |Wesele" [The Wedding], "Fantazy", "Bolesław Śmiały" [Bolesław II the Generous], "Lekkomyślna siostra" [The Reckless Sister], and played parts in the great romantic and post-romantic repertoire – Fantazy and Father Piotr in "Wieczór Poezji" Mickiewicza [Evening with Mickiewicz's Poetry], Ślaz in "Lilla Weneda", the Groom in "Wesele" [The Wedding]. In 1918 in Kiev, he established an independent company in the “Ogniwo” Club, which can be regarded as the prototype of Reduta – actors shared both box office takings and duties, including administrative, economic and technical tasks; they did not respond to applause, decisions were taken collectively by the majority of votes. Common ideas and a desire to reform Polish theatre brought Osterwa closer to Mieczysław Limanowski, who was in Moscow at the time. After returning to Poland, together they founded Reduta in 1919.

In 1937, Osterwa married Matylda neé Sapieha, whom he involved in the theatre’s work: she took part in tours and supported her husband with organisational issues. During the war, which they spent mainly in Kraków and the nearby Sciborzyce, their daughter Maria was born. Under the Nazi occupation, Osterwa did not perform in official theatres. Instead he devoted himself to writing. In his notebooks, he drew up a new system of theatre terminology, replacing words of foreign origin with Polish equivalents. However, he failed to implement any of these projects.After the war, Osterwa briefly became the managing director of Kraków theatres – the combined Słowacki Theatre and Stary Theatre – and the headmaster of the National Drama School in Kraków. He also directed stage productions in Łódź, Warsaw and Kraków. Juliusz Osterwa died in Warsaw on 10 May 1947 and was buried in the Salwator Cemetery in Kraków.

Osterwa headed Reduta until the outbreak of the Second World War, directing, playing the main parts, educating future artists at the Reduta Institute, leading tours, and often contributing to the maintenance of the troupe from his own income. He was simultaneously the director of the National Theatre in Warsaw (1924/1925), the director of the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków (1932–1935), and took part in touring productions throughout Poland. The death of Wanda Osterwina in 1929 coincided with the closing of Vilnius Reduta, financial collapse, and return to Warsaw.

As Józef Szczublewski declared, Osterwa was “an all-round theatre man”: an actor, director, teacher, the creator of the idea of school theatres and theatre pedagogy, as well as a social activist, a “prophet” and visionary of the newly reformed theatre in Poland: theatre that should not pander to the tastes of audiences, the theatre of the live word (“Słowopełnia”, “Żywosłownia”), in which the actor is not a instrument, but a creator with high morale, work ethic and a level of craftsmanship allowing him to embody the words of great bards. Such theatre would not provide entertainment, but rather lead to the transformation of both the viewer and the actor.

Limanowski became the group’s manager. From then on, he mainly conducted analytical rehearsals of the dramas that were to be staged, directed performances, managed the internal affairs of Institute, where he also held theoretical classes, and participated in Reduta’ tours. He was also the co-creator of Reduta’s programme and ideology; he prepared the talks delivered before performances, as well as promoted Reduta’s activity in polemics and features in the press. From 1921 to 1923, Limanowski was also a member of the board of the Association of Polish Stage Artists (ZASP). He did not neglect his academic work, holding lectures at the Faculty of Humanities at Free Polish University (Wolna Wszechnica Polska), and worked at the National Geological Institute in Warsaw. After Reduta’s move to Vilnius, Limanowski became professor of geography at the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius, temporarily suspending his collaboration with the group. When the company returned to Warsaw, he carried on living in Vilnius, but still took part in the work of the Institute, working on subsequent stage productions, including: "Intryga i miłość" [Intrigue and Love] 1932, "L'homme que j'ai tué" [The Man I Killed] 1932, "Betlejem Polskie" [The Polish Betlehem], 1934 and "Pierścień wielkiej damy" [The Grand Dame’s Ring], 1936.

In the 1930s he was a regular contributor to the Vilnius daily newspaper “Słowo”, writing reviews and the mentor of the Dramatic Society at Stefan Batory University with whom he staged several performances, including "Dziady" and a miracle play about St. George. In his work, Limanowski skilfully combined his two passions: during analytical rehearsals he used terms and examples derived from geology, whereas in his scientific work he often referred to literary works. In spite of having a ridiculous streak (his critics pointed out a certain negligence in the way he dressed, absent-mindedness and a tendency to grandiloquent speeches), he was a highly respected scholar and the author of original interpretations derived from esotericism (e.g. of "Wesele" or "Balladyna"). Osterwa held Limanowski in high esteem, always took his opinion into account and valued him as a partner in discussion, which is best evidenced by their correspondence (collated and published in 1987 by Zbigniew Osiński).

In Osterwa’s view, Limanowski was the epitome of Reduta’s spirit. Limanowski spent the Nazi occupation in Vilnius. After the Second World War, he was repatriated to Toruń along with other Vilnius professors, where he became a professor of geography at Mikołaj Kopernik University. He continued working with young people in the field of education, although he no longer dealt with theatre. Mieczysław Limanowski died in Toruń on 25 January 1948. He was buried in St. George Cemetery in Toruń.

Limanowski’s contributions to creating Reduta’s working methods, text analysis and conducting analytical rehearsals are invaluable. He created an original, holistic and ecological vision of culture in which theatre was an element of a ceremonial cycle and played an important role as the centre of spiritual and social life. In the early 1990s Zbigniew Osiński edited and published two volumes of Limanowski’s writings: “Duchowość i maestria”. “Recenzje teatralne” 1901-1940 [Spirituality and Mastery. Theatre Reviews 1901–1940) (Warsaw 1992) and “Był kiedyś teatr Dionizosa” [Once upon a Time: the Theatre of Dionysus] (Warszawa 1994).

Following Norwid, Osterwa defined art “as the highest of the apostles' crafts and the angel’s most humble prayer.” The actor's work is to be not only a means, but also an end, “is to fit in with his own truth, struggle with his own issues” (Świerczewski 1922: 3). The actor must be aware of the responsibility that lies with him, the responsibility for the word, for the character, for its stage rebirth – “the truth of created things must become a matter of the actor's own soul” (ibid). This was to be achieved through practical exercises: working with the text (great emphasis was placed in Reduta on read rehearsals and analytical rehearsals often conducted in the presence of the authors and with their participation), the idea of teamwork, eliminating the cult of "celebrity", ensuring close contact with the actor, purging the sins of the theatre of old: the prompts box and intermissions, and breaking with coquettish behaviour towards the audience, which led to the actors not responding to applause.

Osterwa wanted to simplify the set design and simultaneously give it a special meaning – for example, the actors themselves decided on the choice of props, giving them a personal touch. For this artistic commune, the process of creating the production was important – often, rehearsals that did not result in a show were conducted (e.g. Norwid’s "Krakus"), rehearsals were conducted in the open air, and field trips were conducted (the group's trip to Zakopane before working on Orkan’s "Pomsta").

The spirit of collectivity was reached through common work, complete and selfless devotion to the idea, as well as the family atmosphere achieved by having meals and spending free time together, addressing others by their first name, coining and using new theatre vocabulary, mutual help and self-reliance.

The discipline imposed on Reduta’s members resembled that kept in religious orders (a ban on alcohol, respecting hours of silence before performances, wearing work uniforms- garments similar to monastic habits). The actors adapted to multitasking in the theatre (work in administration, help with props and sharing the tasks of the stage manager). All in all, the members of Reduta subordinated their private life to the theatre and its mission has become their common cause. As Zbigniew Raszewski put it, “Presumably Reduta’s most lasting achievement was its ethos” (Raszewski 1977: 207). The first Reduta laid the foundations of intimate acting style and created the model of modern theatre direction and modern organisation of a theatre company.

The age difference between the youngest and the oldest amounted was over seventy years. The youngest generation was decimated during the Nazi occupation – they were killed during the Warsaw Uprising, in concentration camps, or in guerrilla warfare. After the war, Reduta members gathered every year on 29 November in order to celebrate the anniversary of the Reduta, as well as to pay respects to the memory of late members of the company.