Poland tries to ban Nobel-prize winning art

[Thanas]

Not the onion

Poland’s new culture minister wants to ban a production by one of the country’s leading theatre companies of a play by a Nobel prize-winning author, claiming public money must not be used to subsidise “pornography”.

The move by Piotr Gliński, who is also deputy prime minister in the new conservative Law & Justice government, is seen by civil liberties groups as a sign that Poland is poised for a return to draconian state censorship.

In a letter to the governor of Lower Silesia on the eve of the premiere of Der Tod und das Mädchen (Princess Dramas: Death and the Maiden) by Elfriede Jelinek, Gliński called for the cancellation of the play. The venue, the Polski theatre, was publicly funded, he argued, and “we are dealing with pornography in its full and literal meaning”.

“The Ministry of Culture expects that you order the immediate suspension of the production,” he wrote. But the governor, Cezary Przybylski, told Polish television that “we do not interfere with artistic expression’’, and the show went ahead in the western city of Wrocław.

Following the first night on Saturday, 12 people were arrested after skinheads from the National Resurrection of Poland movement clashed with theatregoers.

On Sunday, the home of the theatre’s artistic director was pelted with eggs and tomatoes. “These are dark days for Poland, reminiscent of Nazi and Soviet oppression,” the Polski theatre’s literary manager, Piotr Rudzki, told the Guardian.

“A move like this, in a country with Poland’s history, is intended to remind us of the years leading up to 1989 when all productions had to be passed by the state censor.”

Polski theatre’s website describes the play, directed by Ewelina Marciniak, as an “exploration of the relationship between torturer and victim”, saying it was “suitable for very adult audiences”.

Rudzki said: “The opening scene features Czech porn actors Rossy and Tim. Under strobe lighting, they simulate foreplay. The scene is intended to startle the audience in the same way as when you come across your parents having sex.”

He said the play was sold out and there were no plans to cancel it. But he added that the Polski theatre received half its annual funding – 5m złotys (£830,000) – from the culture ministry.

“We fear financial censorship now. There could also be ramifications for freedom of expression. The government has an absolute majority in parliament and the potential to change the constitution. Our theatre is not about diverting people. Our company wants to make people think. We are not that attractive to private sponsors,” said Rudzki.

Within a week of being sworn in this month, the Law & Justice government has sacked Poland’s intelligence chiefs and passed a legal amendment that could allow political control of the constitutional court.

The Polish Ministry of Culture and the governor of Lower Silesia did not respond to the Guardian’s requests for interviews.

The potatoes are back in charge.

[Purple]

I am a tad confused about one thing. Is the play it self what won the Nobel prize or just the guy that won it and than then play is one of his other works?

[Ahriman238]

I believe the writer holds the prize and not the production.

Not knowing the play, I can't say how justified the comparison to porn is, then again, I've seen theater with male nudity and with comically oversized phalli, so maybe I'm a little desensitized, but what;s the big deal?

[Elheru Aran]

Yeah, the prize is to the writer. It may be given with a specific work by that writer in mind, but the writer is being rewarded with the prize. It's not like the Caldecott or Newberry medals, which are awarded to the work itself.

I think it's a little more surprising given that it's happening in Europe, where they've historically been a little more relaxed about teh boobies than us prudish Americans. But Eastern Europe in general is a bit more conservative IIRC, so that might explain it, I suppose.

[Iroscato]

Catholicism is a bitch.

[Thanas]

Meh, works like that are perfectly fine in Catholic France and Catholic Italy...more like backwards conservatives being backwards.

[Ziggy Stardust]

The Nobel is not for an individual work. It is for a writer's entire body of work; in that sense it is like a lifetime achievement award. In some circumstances, a writer may have a relatively small oeuvre dominated by one especially impressive work (e.g. this year's winner, Svetlana Alexievich). But, generally, it is broader than that.

In this specific case, this play is not a particularly famous one for Jelinek (in the West, she is more well known for her novels, anyway).

However, this is not the first time she has been the subject of some controversy. A member of the Swedish Academy (the committee responsible for choosing Nobel winners) RESIGNED in disgust specifically to protest Jelinek winning. He called her work an affront to art, and little more than violent porn, or something to that effect. However, it is also worth noting that the member in question had a well-established history of despising any writer's with communist affiliations (as Jelinek did) like Dario Fo (I believe he also referred to Toni Morrison's win as a sign of moral decay, so...).

[Ralin]

Not knowing the play, I can't say how justified the comparison to porn is, then again, I've seen theater with male nudity and with comically oversized phalli, so maybe I'm a little desensitized, but what;s the big deal?

A fairly serious backlash from social regressives in Polish society that's been building momentum for years now, as I understand it

[Thanas]

The Nobel is not for an individual work. It is for a writer's entire body of work; in that sense it is like a lifetime achievement award. In some circumstances, a writer may have a relatively small oeuvre dominated by one especially impressive work (e.g. this year's winner, Svetlana Alexievich). But, generally, it is broader than that.

In this specific case, this play is not a particularly famous one for Jelinek (in the West, she is more well known for her novels, anyway).

However, this is not the first time she has been the subject of some controversy. A member of the Swedish Academy (the committee responsible for choosing Nobel winners) RESIGNED in disgust specifically to protest Jelinek winning. He called her work an affront to art, and little more than violent porn, or something to that effect. However, it is also worth noting that the member in question had a well-established history of despising any writer's with communist affiliations (as Jelinek did) like Dario Fo (I believe he also referred to Toni Morrison's win as a sign of moral decay, so...).

Jelinek's Prinzessinnendramen are pretty well known and this was a part of that.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Jelinek's Prinzessinnendramen are pretty well known and this was a part of that.

Her reputation in the German-speaking world is likely different than her reputation over here (which isn't uncommon ... non-Francophones mostly had no idea who Patrick Modiano was until he won the prize last year). Here she is mostly known for her novels and early plays (like "Illness or Modern Women. Like a Play". Not sure the German name for it). I don't believe there have been English translations or productions of Prinzessinnendramen as there have for her other works.