Konrad Swinarski

Konrad Ksawery Swinarski (4 July 1929, Warszawa – 19 August 1975 near Damascus) – Polish theatrical, television, film and opera director and stage designer.

He has created his own style, thanks to which he is considered one of the most original and outstanding artists in the history of Polish theatre.

He influenced many polish directors, such as Jerzy Grzegorzewski, Krystian Lupa, Jerzy Jarocki, Maciej Prus, Grzegorz Jarzyna and Krzysztof Warlikowski.

His father was lieutenant colonel Karol Świnarski, and his mother was Irmgarda Liczbińska, who came from a Polish-German Silesian family.

He studied at Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice and Sopot, faculty of scenic visuals of Academy of Fine Arts In Łódź and Drama Direction Faculty of National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw.

During Warsaw studies he was an assistant to directors Bohdan Korzeniewski and Erwin Axer.

Swinarski was buried in Powązki Military Cemetery (quartier A37-4-4).

After his death, Teatr magazine established yearly Konrad Swinarski Award, awarded to theatrical directors for best work of the season.

The laureates include Henryk Tomaszewski, Jerzy Jarocki, Maciej Prus, Jerzy Grzegorzewski, Janusz Wiśniewski.

In 1954, together with Przemysław Zieliński he realized Señora Carrar's Rifles for New Warsaw's theatre.

He finished studying in 1955, but graduated in 1972 based on A Midsummer Night's Dream production in National Stary Theatre.

He debuted solo by directing Żeglarz (The Sailor) by Jerzy Szaniawski, premiering 14 May 1955 in Wojciech Bogusławski Theatre in Kalisz.

In 1955–1957 he interned for Berliner Ensemble as Brecht's assistant.

In 1955 Swinarski married Barbara Witek.

Together with other assistants he took part in finishing inscenization of Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, started by Brecht before his death on 14 August 1956.

Returning to Poland, Swinarski directed plays in Warsaw theatres: Dramatyczny, Współczesny, Ateneum and National Theatre and Gdańsk Wybrzeże Theatre.

He also directed plays abroad, eg in West Germany.

In 1960 he got Leon Schiller award, granted to young theatrical directors.

In 1965 he started his longtime cooperaion with Stary Theatre in Cracow, where some of his most famous works were produced.

In 1966 he was a laureate of Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński Award for an inscenization of The Undivine Comedy in Stary Theatre and for A Dangerous Game in Teatr Telewizji teleplay, and West German Theatre Critics Award in 1964 for the world premiere of Marat/Sade at the Schiller Theater in Berlin, by Peter Weiss and Mayakovsky's The Bedbug.

In 1973–1975 he was a lecturer of National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków.

During studies he became fascinated and worked with Bertolt Brecht.

Those included his most famous work, novel and innovative inscenization of Dziady (Forefathers Eve) by Adam Mickiewicz, premiering 18 February 1973.

30 May 1974 premiered his inscenization of Wyzwolenie (Liberation) by Stanisław Wyspiański, his last work for Stary Theatre.

1975 Swinarski began preparations to direct Hamlet, interrupted by his sudden death.

19 August 1975 Swinarski died in ČSA Flight 540 accident of Ilyushin Il-62 that crashed during attempted landing near Damascus.

Swinarski was invited by empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi to take part in Shiraz Arts Festival.

There were plans for Swinarski to show his Dziady during next years festival.

His homosexuality was a well-known fact in artistic circles, but it wasn't publicly mentioned (or in any biographical work) until 2003.