KOENIG Jerzy

Born on 21 November 1931 in Lodz; son of the lawyer Erwin Koenig, and the civil servant Anna, née Bujanowska. He was raised by his mother following his parents' divorce in 1939. He attended the Stefan Żeromski High School in Lodz. He became a member of the Union of Polish Youth (ZMP) in 1949. After completing advanced secondary education in 1951, he studied Russian philology at the University of Lodz (UŁ). He moved to Warsaw in 1954 and continued his studies at the University of Warsaw (UW), graduating with a master's degree in 1955. From 1954 to 1956, he also worked as a proofreader for the State Publishing House for School Publications (Państwowe Zakłady Wydawnictw Szkolnych). He made his debut with a review of two performances of Ewan MacColl's play The Travellers (staged in Lodz and Warsaw as Zatrzymać pociąg and Podróżni). The review appeared in the weekly "Teatr" (no. 7), where went on to publish intermittently in later years (1956-57, 1966-71, and 1986). He was a member of the Circle of Youth Theatre Critics led by Edward Csató at the Association of Polish Theatre and Film Artists (SPATiF). He worked for the editorial board of the theatre monthly "Dialog" from 1956 to 1966, initially as a junior and then senior editor, before later becoming head of department. He likewise published reviews and articles on theatre in the periodical. He also translated texts from Russian, mainly contemporary drama but also works on theatre. Between 1958 and 1975, he contributed occasionally to the periodical "Pamiętnik Teatralny". From 1961 to 1962 he was literary director at the National Theatre (Teatr Narodowy) in Warsaw. He joined the editorial board of "Współczesność" in 1966 where he was head of the theatre and film section. He likewise published theatre reviews there (1965-68). He was also a member of the editorial board of the literary monthly "Miesięcznik Literacki", where he continued to publish until 1970. In 1965, he joined the Polish Writers' Union (ZLP). In 1967, he applied to join the ruling Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and was accepted in 1968. Following the death of E. Csató he became editor-in-chief of the biweekly "Teatr", remaining in the post until 1972. He also published theatre reviews in periodicals including "Nowa Kultura" (1961-62), "Przegląd Kulturalny" (1960-63), "Kultura" (including the column Kronika teatralna [Theatre Chronicle] co-written with Elżbieta Wysińska published under the cryptonym KiW), and "Express Wieczorny" (1969-70). From 1968 to 1969 he was editor of the theatre almanac "Almanach Sceny Polskiej" and the puppet theatre quarterly "Teatr Lalek". He also collaborated with Polish Radio and Polish Television, serving for many years as a consultant on theatre. In 1966, he took up a post at the State Theatre School (PWST) in Warsaw, teaching courses on the history of theatre and drama. In 1972, he became a contracted lecturer at PWST and associate dean of the Faculty of Acting. He was also deputy rector of PWST between 1975 and 1981, and associate dean of the Faculty of Directing in 1981/82. In 1975, he co-founded the Faculty of Theatre Studies, serving as its dean until 1981 and again from 1987 to 1990 and 1993 to 1996 (and as associate dean from 1996 to 1999). In 1972, he rejoined the editorial board of "Dialog", serving as deputy editor-in-chief. He was briefly editor-in-chief in 1989. He published the regular column Sprawy bieżące (Current Affairs) in 1990/91. In 1972, he also became literary director of the Dramatyczny Theatre in Warsaw, remaining in the role until 1981. He received the 1975 Theatre Criticism Prize of the Polish Journalists Association (SPD), the Society of Polish-Soviet Friendship (TPPR) Prize in 1976 for his translations of Russian-language literature, the prize of the weekly "Przyjaźń" in 1976 in recognition of his achievements in staging Soviet dramas in Poland and then in 1986 for his translations of Russian and Soviet literature, the Wanda Wasilewska Prize from TPPR in 1988, and the Prize of the Head of the Committee for Radio and Television the same year. He was artistic director of the Polish Festival of Russian and Soviet Drama (1981; Ogólnopolski Festiwal Dramaturgii Rosyjskiej i Radzieckiej) and a member of the programme councils of many other theatre festivals, including the Festival of Contemporary Plays ( Festiwal Polskich Sztuk Współczesnych) in Wroclaw, the Festival of Polish Classics ( Festiwal Klasyki Polskiej) in Opole, and the Warsaw Theatre Meetings (Warszawskie Spotkania Teatralne). Between 1983 and 1985, and again from 1987 to 1994, he was executive director of the Theatre and Literature Section of Polish Television (Redakcja Teatru i Programów Literackich Telewizji Polskiej). Following the abolition of the post, he was made editor of the Television Theatre programme at the Theatre and Film Production Agency (Agencja Produkcji Teatralnej i Filmowej), remaining in the post until 1998. He also appeared regularly on air, presenting introductions to premiere performances on Television Theatre. In 1993, he received the Superwiktor prize in recognition of his work as a television personality. He also held various positions in theatres outside Warsaw. He was a literary consultant at the Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Kielce (1982-85), and literary director at the Wybrzeże Theatre in Gdansk (1985-86) and at the Stary Theatre in Krakow (1998), subsequently serving as its artistic director until 2002. Between 1992 and 1999, he was head of the jury of the Kontakt International Theatre Festival in Torun. In 1993, he was appointed associate professor at PWST (which in 1996 became the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art). Following his retirement in 2002, he continued to work there until 2007. During this period, his theatre reviews appeared in "Obserwator Codzienny" (1992), "Gazeta Wyborcza", "Rzeczpospolita", "Teatr" (2000, 2006-07), "Foyer" (in 2004/05 the regular column Palarnia [Smoking Room]), "Dziennik Polska Europa Świat" (2006-07), and "Polityka". He served on the Theatre Council of the Ministry of Culture and Arts (1990-92), the chapter of the Presidential Prize for Art for Children and Youth (Sztuka Młodym; 2002-05), and the Artistic Council of the Employers' Union – the Union of Polish Theatres (Rada Artystyczna Związku Pracodawców Unia Polskich Teatrów; from 2006). In 2006, he received the Prize of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for his outstanding artistic and teaching achievements. He received the Knight's Cross (1986) and the Officer's Cross (2003) of the Order of Polonia Restituta. He married the television director Joanna Mosińska in 1954 (divorcing in 1968); in 1972 he married the stage designer Anna Rachel. He had two sons; one from his first marriage, the IT specialist Piotr
(b. 1958); and one from his second marriage, Krzysztof (b. 1975). Jerzy Koenig died on 11 July 2008 in Warsaw; he is buried at the city's Powązki Military Cemetery. In October 2008, the Faculty of Theatre Studies at the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw established the Jerzy Koenig Prize. It is awarded to graduates who produce outstanding achievements within three years of completing their degree.