Student Experimental Theatre

[Studencki Teatr Eksperymentalny] a student theatre company operating within the Regional Council of the Association of Polish Students (Rada Okręgowa Zrzeszenia Studentów Polskich) in Kraków. The Theatre was led by Janusz Budzyński and its members included students from the Kraków State Drama School (PWST) and amateur actors preparing for degrees in acting. Grotowski began collaborating with the Student Experimental Theatre in July 1956, after returning from Moscow, and in August that year was officially taken on as a director. He was to stage the first ever Polish performance of Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi with this group, but work on this piece was never completed due to differences emerging between the director and the actors. Grotowski’s political activism at the time was no doubt also a factor. In December 1956 Grotowski was removed from his position as director with the Theatre.