Kalisky, René

Kalisky, René

▪ Belgian author
born July 20, 1936, Brussels, Belgium
died May 2, 1981, Paris, France

      Belgian writer of Polish descent who is best known for the plays he wrote in the last 12 years of his life.

      Kalisky, whose father was killed at Auschwitz, was himself hidden from harm during World War II. These wartime experiences enabled him to write powerfully on Jewish subjects. Though he wrote essays and journalism as well as plays, Kalisky's reputation rests mainly on his drama, which was modern and innovative, yet with classical tragic dimensions. Experimenting with ideas present in the work of Bertolt Brecht (Brecht, Bertolt) and Luigi Pirandello (Pirandello, Luigi), Kalisky developed ideas of “superacting” and “supertext” as means to liberate not only player and script from convention but also to help realize the dramatic potential of an audience.

      Following early essays on Arab-Israeli themes, he began to write episodic historical plays: Trotsky, Etc (1969); Skandalon (1970), based on the life of the professional cyclist Fausto Coppi; Jim le téméraire (1972; “Jim the Lionhearted”), an alternative vision of Nazism; and Le Pique-nique de Claretta (1973; “Claretta's Picnic”), about the rise and fall of Mussolini. His later plays are more focused and complex in ideas and staging: La Passion selon Pier Paolo Pasolini (1977; “The Passion According to Pier Paolo Pasolini”) is a reconstitution of the Italian writer and film director's murder, incorporating the reenactment of scenes from Pasolini's films; Dave au bord de la mer (1978; “Dave on the Beach”) is a contemporary version of the biblical story of the meeting between Saul and David; and Sur les ruines de Carthage (1980; On the Ruins of Carthage) pits opposing visions of history. Of Kalisky's posthumous publications, Aïda vaincue (1979; “Aïda Defeated”), about a Jew's return to Europe, is the most accessible; Charles le téméraire (1984; “Charles the Lionhearted”) is a teleplay on a theme of Belgian history. Kalisky was working on Falsch (1981), a play centred on the biblical story of Joseph and his brothers, when he was struck by a fatal illness.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kalisky, Réné — (1936–81)    Belgian writer. Kalisky was born in Brussels and was in hiding throughout the war. He worked as a journalist until 1972 when he settled in Paris. There he concentrated on essays and drama. His essays include L’Origine et L’Essor du… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • KALISKY (R.) — KALISKY RENÉ (1936 1981) Combattre la disparition de la dimension métaphysique dans les processus révolutionnaires; récuser aussi bien la confiance dans le progrès liée à l’illusion d’un ordre universel que l’imposture de la civilisation de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Kalisky — (René) (1936 1981), écrivain belge d expression française. Hanté par l image de son père, mort à Auschwitz, et tenté par l idéal révolutionnaire, il analyse l intolérance: Sionisme et Dispersion (1974), l Impossible Royaume (1979). Théâtre:… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Rene Kalisky — René Kalisky b René Kalisky (Bruxelles, 1936 Paris, 1981) est un dramaturge belge d origine juive polonaise. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Œuvres 3 Bibliographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • René Kalisky — (gauche) avec Antoine Vitez René Kalisky (Bruxelles, 1936 Paris, 1981) est un dramaturge belge d origine juive polonaise. Sommaire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Kalisky — René Kalisky b René Kalisky (Bruxelles, 1936 Paris, 1981) est un dramaturge belge d origine juive polonaise. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Œuvres 3 Bibliographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • René Kalisky — (Brussels, 1936 Paris, 1981) was a Belgian writer of Polish descent who is best known for the plays he wrote in the last 12 years of his life.Kalisky, whose father was killed at Auschwitz, was himself hidden from harm during World War II. These… …   Wikipedia

  • Belgian literature — Introduction  the body of written works produced by Belgians and written in Flemish, which is equivalent to the Standard Dutch (Dutch language) (Netherlandic) language of The Netherlands, and in Standard French (French language), which are the… …   Universalium

  • Ensemble Théâtral Mobile — L’Ensemble Théâtral Mobile est une compagnie théâtrale belge, née après la fermeture du Théâtre du Parvis et dirigée par Marc Liebens. Elle est également connue sous l acronyme « ETM ». Cette compagnie a joué un rôle majeur dans le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Antoine Vitez — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Antoine Vitez ( 20 de diciembre de 1930, París, Francia 30 de abril de 1990, París, Francia) fue un director de escena y una figura central del teatro francés de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, en parte debido a su… …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”