Debut
One of the most interesting personalities of the Polish stage from the last fifty years, Pszoniak's roles in films by Andrzej Wajda brought him international recognition.
(...) When Pszoniak plays, he remains himself. He builds roles not on the basis of external, alien elements, which can be learned, but he draws from his experience as a human being, from his rich – as everyone’s – personality, which he does not want to hide behind costumes and make-up, but from which he wants to derive inner truth.
Maciej Karpinski, Pszoniak, Warsaw 1976
Pszoniak graduated from the State High School of Theatre in Kraków in 1968. During his studies, he performed at the STU Theatre. In the years 1968-74 he played in Kraków’s Stary Teatr. He made his debut there in the play Curse by Stanisław Wyspiański directed by Konrad Swinarski (1968). Pszoniak believed that it was thanks to Swinarski that his career as an actor began. He played the Apothecary in Wyspiański’s Judges (1968), Puck in Midsummer Night’s Dream (1970) and Parollesa in All’s Well That Ends Well by Shakespeare (1971) under Swinarski’s direction. The most important of these roles was the character of Puck – the perpetrator and participant in all the events happening on stage. There Pszoniak revealed his characteristic energy and vitality, astonished the audience with his physical dexterity, controlled the pace of the show, and dominated the stage in a remarkable way.
Meeting Andrzej Wajda
In 1971 he worked for the first time with director Andrzej Wajda, with whom he would join his artistic fate for many years to come. Their first theatre project was Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The role of Pyotr Verkhovensky was Pszoniak’s most significant in the Stary Teatr.
In his performance Verkhovensky is vehement, consumed by inner fire, prone to outbursts and unusual gestures. Pszoniak moves quickly, almost jumping on the stage, and makes nervous gestures, pouring out streams of words with burning eyes – this is acting of the highest order, the character is portrayed consistently and is worthy of this extraordinary performance.
(Maciej Karpinski, Pszoniak, Warsaw 1976).
In 1975, he once more participated in a play directed by Wajda, The Danton Case by Stanisława Przybyszewska. The premiere took place in Warsaw’s Powszechny Theatre in which Pszoniak worked from 1974 to 1979. His Robespierre was one of the greatest dramatic portrayals of the 70s. This time the actor replaced the impulsiveness known from the characters of Puck and Khlestakov from The Government Inspector directed by Adam Hanuszkiewicz at the National Theatre (1973) with restraint. Robespierre in Pszoniak’s interpretation was the epitome of a dogmatic and ascetic revolutionary. Elżbieta Wysińska wrote:
Wojciech Pszoniak’s self-imposed rigour radically alters the way he acts. An actor who is so incredibly lively, with such expressive facial features, stands still and by doing that he reveals all his hidden strength. Przybyszewska’s idealised Robespierre (...), interpreted by Pszoniak, showed integrity, and fascinated with his personality. In the performance Robespierre dominates the hall with his voice, the words spoken by him are crystal clear and explicit, not leaving room for any doubt. His representation of the role contains sensational proposals
Kultura 1975, No. 6
Other interesting roles performed by Pszoniak in the Powszechny Theatre included that of Randle Mac Murphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Dale Wasserman (1977) and Papkin in The Revenge by Aleksander Fredro (1978) – both directed by Zygmunt Hübner.
Prominent roles
In 1978 he started performing on foreign stages. He appeared in the French Nanterre Theatre in Peter Handke’s play Foolish People are in Decline directed by Claude Regy, together with Gerard Depardieu and Daniel Olbrychski. Then, he played on the same stage in Witkacy’s They directed by Wajda.