Drama and stage works

Dramas and stage works

In this category you will find dramatic texts intended for reading and staging: ancient tragedies and comedies, Shakespeare's plays, Polish Romantic and Young Poland classics, theatre of the absurd, and plays by contemporary playwrights.

Many of these works are school reading, so editions with footnotes, an introduction and commentary are available, which make it easier to understand the context of the era. People interested in theatre will reach for collections of a given author's plays or anthologies of contemporary drama.

With foreign plays, it is worth paying attention to the translator, because translations differ in language and in how well they suit the stage. Amateur theatres and school drama clubs can look for editions with the full text, without cuts. Pocket editions are convenient for rehearsals. Reading a play before a visit to the theatre lets you better understand the director's interpretation and follow the changes made in the staging. Many plays also appear in collections with commentary by theatre scholars and a history of productions.