Macbeth in (the Shade of) Iraq: Crossing the Borders of Poland, Nato and the Defensive War

Abstract

The numerous Polish productions of Macbeth in an overt or covert fashion address issues that have been at the core of political debate in the past decade, such as the state’s engagement in military missions that are in fact real wars. Furthermore, they also comment on the new Polish political system (is it still “new”?) and the situation of individuals in it, how they can profit in it. The paper discusses productions such as Andrzej Wajda’s (2004) from the Stary Theatre in Kraków, Maja Kleczewska’s (2004) from the Kochanowski Theatre in Opole, Grzegorz Jarzyna’s (2005; the full title is “2007: Macbeth”) from the Teatr Rozmaitości (TR) in Warsaw, and Piotr Kruszczyński’s (2005) from the Polski Theatre in Warsaw.