Grotowski's First Tour Abroad: The Constant Prince in Scandinavia

Abstract

Little attention has been paid to the fact that Grotowski's first tour abroad with the Laboratory Theatre was to the Scandinavian countries rather than to Paris, as is often imagined. In this article, Franco Perrelli focuses on the responses of critics, especially in Sweden, to performances of The Constant Prince and to the seminars and other discussions accompanying the tour. He thus provides a comprehensive account of the impact made by Grotowski and his actors in their first encounter with spectators outside Poland. A specialist in Scandinavian theatre, Franco Perrelli is Chair of Performing Arts and Head of the Doctoral School in the Department of Art, Music, Theatre and Cinema (DAMS) at the University of Turin. His books include Echi nordici di grandi attori italiani (2004), La seconda creazione. Fondamenti della regia teatrale (2005), I maestri della ricerca teatrale. Il Living, Grotowki, Barba e Brook (2007), and Strindberg: la scrittura e la scena (2009).