Michal Walczak

Michal Walczak was born in 1979 in Sanok and is Poland's most important young dramatist. This is due no only to the subject matter he chooses, but his approach to it, which makes him a highly original writer. As many others of his generation Walczak detects a spreading disorientation and this he confronts in his pieces with a captivating mixture of quirky humour and a general goal towards the creation of worlds. How this comes cross to the Polish theatrical landscape will be described in an essay by Thomas Irmer.

Walczaks qualities were already convincing two years ago at the Spieltriebe 2 Festival: The absurd relationship comedy "Pierwszy raz" (The first time) with it’s playful language - which was awarded with the European Authors Prize at the Heidelberg Play Market - was performed in Osnabrück. This year, the first performance in German of the play Journey to the Inside of the Room (2003) will follow in which a man tries to take charge of his life and suffers a grotesque and total loss of his world. Wolfgang Behrens will be daring to enter into Walczaks enchanted room.