Warszawski «Hamlet» 1871: dylematy historiograficzne

This article discusses the performance of Hamlet that premiered at Teatr Wielki [Grand Theater] in Warsaw on 24th March 1871. Produced as part of the celebrations of Helena Modrzejewska’s achievement, it is regarded as an important chapter in the history of Warsaw theater in the second half of the 19th century. The author separates historical documents dating from the period in question from later interpretations in order to complicate and problematize the image of this legendary staging created by Józef Szczublewski in the 1960s. Research using archive materials enables a discussion of the instability of facts, the mechanism of creating theater legends, and the dilemmas concerning the description and evaluation of historical phenomena. An important part of the historiographic analysis undertaken in the article is also to problematize the tension between a literature-oriented and theater-oriented approach to studying theater history.