2025/08/25 by Makaruk, Maria
paper · doi:10.34762/qd0b-qc50
This article explores the unique significance of Adam Mickiewicz’s production of Forefather’s Eve within Polish social and cultural life. Building on the research of Ewa Hevelke and Michał Januszaniec in Tytuł roboczy (Working Title, 2025), a documentary about Kazimierz Dejmek’s renowned production of Dziady, the author challenges the interpretations of Mickiewicz’s drama offered by critics and theatre reviewers. She compares and contrasts performances created during the ‘golden decade of Dziady’ (2010-2020) with the three most talked-about adaptations of the last five years: Dziady na Mickiewicza 34/36 and two productions of Forefather’s Eve directed by Maja Kleczewska. By analysing the poetics of the reception of the latest Forefather’s Eve, the author considers the consequences of treating Forefather’s Eve as a ‘drama whose stagings transcend the boundaries of theatre to become an important meta-commentary on social life,’ of applying grand quantifiers to it, and of deriving the Forefather’s Eve project from the domain of literature into the social sphere. The author also considers whether it is worthwhile using Forefather’s Eve to fight for the rights of women and marginalised people and examines the potential effects of discussing the relationship with contemporary Russia through the play's text.