Barska-Grotowska Barbara

(br. 1938), actress and television producer. Upon completing her studies at the Puppetry Department of the State Academy of Theatre in Kraków, she joined the Theatre of 13 Rows in Opole, where she played the female leads in Orpheus (Eurydice) and Cain (Ada). She also appeared in Gliniane gołębie (Clay pigeons), Kabaret Błażeja Sartra (Błażej Sartre’s cabaret – the girl) and Shakuntalā (as Anasuja); a recording of her voice was also used in Pamiętnik śląski (A Silesian Memoir) . She officially left the group on 1 October 1961. Barska-Grotowska subsequently worked in the Teatr Ziemi Opolskiej (Opole Regional Theatre – 1962–1963) and Teatr Rapsodyczny (Rhapsodic Theatre) in Krakow (1964–1967; appearing in roles including Eumenides and Helena in Akropolis directed by Mieczysław Kotlarczyk, premiering on 1 October 1967). For many years she collaborated with Polish Radio, appearing primarily in the radio plays of her husband, the famous radio director Józef Grotowski (works include an adaptation of Stanisław Lem’s Solaris); she herself wrote many radio plays and shows. She has worked for many years as a producer for Polish Television (TVP). In 2002 she was made a member of the Programme Board of TVP, nominated by the Unia Pracy party. She has also published a volume of poetry Strzępy i kostiumy (Rags and costumes, Kraków 2006).