Bogusławski, Wojciech

born April 9, 1757, Glinna, Pol.

died July 23, 1829, Warsaw

Polish actor, director, and playwright.

He joined the Polish National Theatre in Warsaw as an actor in 1778 and later became its director (1783–1814). Considered the father of Polish theatre, he wrote over 80 plays, including numerous comedies adapted from western European writers as well as the popular original play Krakovians and Highlanders (1794). He helped develop theatre companies in Vilna (1785) and Lwów (1794) and toured with the Lwów company, performing in foreign and Polish plays. In 1787 he played Hamlet in his own translation of Shakespeare's play.

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▪ Polish dramatist

born April 9, 1757, Glinna, Poland

died July 23, 1829, Warsaw

      leading playwright of the Polish Enlightenment, a period of cultural revival much influenced by French writers such as Voltaire and Rousseau.

      After studying singing, Bogusławski joined the court of the bishop of Kraków. He subsequently became a soldier and then, in 1778, an actor. Between 1783 and 1814, he directed the Polish National Theatre in Warsaw; later he worked in Lwów [now Lviv, Ukraine] and toured with his company, performing both Polish and foreign plays.

      Bogusławski is considered by many to be the father of the Polish theatre. He wrote more than 80 plays, mostly comedies adapted from writers of western Europe, and he is also credited with introducing Shakespeare to Polish audiences with his translation of Hamlet (1811). In his own best comedies he used English models, as, for example, in Szkoła obmowy (1793; The School for Scandal). His best-known and most popular original play is Cud mniemany, czyli Krakowiacy i Górale (1794; “The Pretended Miracle, or Krakovians and Highlanders”), a patriotic comic opera based on national folklore. As a theatrical director Bogusławski improved the situation of the acting profession, elevating actors from entertainers to professionals recognized as artists.

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