Until the end of March, published reviews (from 2019-2020) can be submitted to the 8th edition of the national Andrzej Żurowski competition for young theatre critics. The finalists, who will receive awards from the President of the City of Gdynia and the Marshal of Pomorskie Voivodeship, will be announced in May.
The Andrzej Żurowski National Competition for Theatre Reviews for Young Critics has been traditionally organised for years. Due to the pandemic reality, this year's edition is open to theatre reviews published in 2019 and 2020 until the end of March 2021.
The competition is organised by the President of Gdynia, the City Theatre in Gdynia and the Theatre Critics Club of the Polish section of AICT. The competition is dedicated to the memory of prof. Andrzej Żurowski, a critic, theatre scholar, Shakespearean writer, prose writer, journalist and academic at the UG. A man of the theatre, about whom Jan Kott wrote that as an author '...he was in equal measure a critic, a theatre witness and a diligent and attentive reader.'
The competition is aimed at young stage enthusiasts and theatre critics under the age of 35. They can submit their three reviews, which were published in traditional media (press, radio, television) or on the Internet on any sites (e.g. blogs, sites related to media, theatres or associations that promote theatre).
Applications are still being accepted for this year's edition of the competition (deadline is March 31, 2021.)
- 'Despite the fact that last year the performances took place online, we observe that young people watched more of these performances than in a normal year,' says Alina Kietrys, Competition Secretary and UG lecturer. - 'Thanks to this, we also have an overview of events across Poland, as seen through the eyes of young people,' - she adds.
In her opinion, the competition is a kind of talent breeding ground, as evidenced by the laureates' later careers related to the stage. - 'Among them, there are many doctoral and post-doctoral students of theatre studies and reviewers in theatre-related magazines.'
According to the organisers, the reviews can concern all theatrical activities and forms - from performances in drama, music, opera, off-air, avant-garde or ballet theatres. The Jury of the Competition, which for years has gathered a distinguished group of theatre people, recommends five people for the final, from among which two finalists will be chosen.
Remigiusz Grzela, a prose writer, poet and playwright, member of the Award Jury, addresses a kind of recipe for a good review to young students of theatre criticism.
- 'I would like a reviewer to be able to assess performance, that is, to be equipped with instruments allowing for such an assessment. I would like him to know theatre history and literature, to be a versatile and developing humanist, to be able to search in theatre. I would like him to have curiosity and to be able to tell stories with passion. I simply want the reviewer to love theatre and to respect himself and his work.'