One of the most famous dramatic actors in the history of Polish theatre, and stage director. Born March 13, 1884 in Warsaw; died September 4, 1952 in Kościan.
Węgrzyn grew up in Kraków, primarily cared for by his elder brother, Maksymilian. In 1902, he graduated from the St. Anne Grammar School in Kraków and spent the following year studying at the drama school run by Gabriela Zapolska.
He made his stage debut just one year later in Lvov, appearing opposite Irena Solska as a stand-in for Stanisław Knake-Zawadzki in the role of Eros in Jerzy Żuławski's Eros i Psyche / Eros and Psyche. He returned to Kraków the same year, joining the ensemble at the Teatr Ludowy (People's Theatre), where he gave a critically acclaimed performance as the Host in a production of Stanisław Wyspiański's Wesele / The Wedding (1905). He decided to transfer to the Municipal Theatre and went to see the director Ludwik Solski who was looking for young actors at the time. Solski promptly hired him. Węgrzyn initially played small roles and polished his acting style under Solski's guidance. Węgrzyn was successful as the Genius in Stanisław Wyspiański's Wyzwolenie / Liberation (1906), as the Cossack, Semenko, in Juliusz Słowacki's Sen srebrny Salomei / Salome's Silver Dream (1909), and as the mute, Daniel, in Friedrich Hebbel's Judyta / Judith (1909). He soon faced greater challenges, playing von Bismarck in Adolf Nowaczyński's Fryderyk Wielki / Frederick The Great (1909), Jan in Słowacki's Fantazy (1909), and Orestes in one of Aeschylus' tragedies (1910). His greatest role in Kraków was as Rapsod in Wyspiański's Legion / The Legion (1911), in which the young actor appeared opposite his mentor, Solski, who played Mickiewicz.
"In rehearsals, Solski - as always - surpassed all the other actors, who were simultaneously subordinate to him as the director," recalled Antoni Waśkowski. "The production's première was a surprise: Węgrzyn's stage presence, acting, and voice quality were so dramatic, so heroic, that Solski was suddenly diminished" (in: K. Biernacki, "Józef Węgrzyn", Kraków, 1969).
In 1912, Arnold Szyfman, who was preparing to open the Polish Theatre in Warsaw, brought the young actor to the capital. Węgrzyn became a core member of the newly formed ensemble, which initially travelled to Russia for a series of guest performances. The Polish Theatre in Warsaw opened officially in 1913 with a production of Zygmunt Krasiński's Irydion / Iridion featuring Węgrzyn in the title role; he gave an heroic, patriotic and yet far from stilted performance. At the Polish Theatre, the actor also appeared as the highlander, Bryndas, in Wojciech Bogusławski's Krakowiacy i górale / Cracovians and Highlanders (1914) and offered a somewhat broad portrayal of the villain, Kostryn, in Słowacki's Balladyna (1914). It was also in Warsaw that Węgrzyn appeared for the first time in a Shakespeare play, portraying Brutus in Julius Caesar (1914).
When World War I broke out, Węgrzyn - at that time in the coastal resort of Sopot - managed to travel to Kraków. In 1915, he appeared again on his former stage, now called the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre. He was successful as Prince Potemkin in George Bernard Shaw's Wielka Katarzyna / Great Catherine, and as Bartosz Głowacki in Władysław Ludwik Anczyc's Kościuszko pod Racławicami / Kościuszko at Racławice. However, that same year, he returned to Warsaw and to the Polish Theatre. The erstwhile director of the stage, Szyfman, as a subject of the Austrian crown, was forcibly exiled deep into Russia, with Bolesław Gorczyński assuming Szyfman's duties at the theatre. It was at the Polish Theatre, in 1915, that Węgrzyn first played the role of Romantic hero, Gustav-Konrad, in Adam Mickiewicz's Dziady / Forefathers' Eve (1915), a role for which he was soon to become famous. He was praised for his honesty on stage and his commitment to the role, but this was not a performance with which Węgrzyn could dazzle audiences or critics. In general, Węgrzyn had to mature a little in many of the Romantic lead parts he tackled, playing the roles several times in different productions until he mastered them. This was very much the case with Gustav-Konrad. In the meantime, he also played Kordian in Słowacki's drama of the same title (1916) and Konrad in Wyspiański's Wyzwolenie / Liberation (1916), which was considered an artistic success when Węgrzyn first performed the role.
"Throughout this act (and till the end), Mr. Węgrzyn celebrated a true artistic triumph," noted Jan Lorentowicz. "He broke through his declamatory monotony, highlighted various accents, avoided easy pathos, surrounded viewers with a suggestion of Konrad's anxiety, he broke down and suffered with great expression. In none of his roles was this exceptional artist so well-disposed as he is as Konrad" (in: K. Biernacki, "Józef Węgrzyn", Kraków, 1969).
In 1916, Węgrzyn transferred to the Teatr Rozmaitości in Warsaw, where he would spend almost the next eight years. Subsequently, in 1924-38, he worked at the National Theatre. He appeared in different roles in a rich and varied repertoire, enjoying many successes but occasionally enduring spectacular defeats. He took more of an emotional than an intellectual approach to his roles, with a strong temperament and inner energy. Some accused him of being mannered, noting a degree of over-acting, while he was sometimes described as an impressionist artist who painted his characters' features with a series of very accurate, dynamic and dramatic "brushstrokes".
On the boards of the Variety Theatre, he suffered an unsuccessful performance in the title role of Shakespeare's Othello (1916). The actor also experienced occasional artistic failures at the National Theatre, as was the case with his portrayal of the title character in Johann Wolfgang Goethe's tragedy, Faust (1926) and in Słowacki's Król Agis / King Agis (1927). For the most part, however, his roles were very well received, such as when he played Jan from Słowacki's Fantazy (1920), Prince Aleksey in Dmitri Merezkowski's play (1921) and Rodrigo in Pierre Corneille's El Cid (1922). There were also roles in which his performance was considered revelatory. Among these was his portrayal of the Host in Wyspiański's Wesele / The Wedding (1917). He was also an excellent Kordian at the Bogusławski Theatre (1922), while at the National Theatre he produced an exceptional Zbigniew in Słowacki's Mazepa (1924). His next première came at the National Theatre in José Zorilla's Don Juan (1924). His performance as the seducer turned out to be one of Węgrzyn's best roles, both exalted and emotional, almost demonic, and described by critics as powerful, artistically complete, even ideal. The production enjoyed an astoundingly long run, a series of 101 performances. After this, the actor continued to perform the character when the ensemble toured Polish cities offering guest performances.
Węgrzyn managed difficult verse very skillfully, and he was particularly well prepared to play heroic and historical roles, rendering the tragic aspects of characters with great skill and sensitivity. He was also adept at portraying heroes from the Classical world. Once again at the National Theatre, he was triumphant in the role of King Oedipus from Sophocles' tragedy (1926). His versatility also enabled him to offer energetic and effective performances in comedies, among them Adolf Nowaczyński's Wiosna Narodów w cichym zakątku / The Spring of Nations in a Quiet Corner (1929), in which he appeared as the Czech officer, Nedostal. During the 1935-36 season, Węgrzyn again worked at the Polish Theatre, offering a stunning performance as Captain Stanthope in a play from the contemporary repertoire and set during World War I, Robert Cedric Sherriff's Kres wędrówki / The Journey's End (1935). A calm, controlled captain, a model soldier, hides a secret, which Węgrzyn proved capable of rendering with devilish clarity. During these years, Węgrzyn returned to the Romantic repertoire, tackling for the fourth time the role of Gustav-Konrad, this time achieving a tremendous artistic success in a staging of Dziady / Forefathers' Eve prepared by Leon Schiller at the National Theatre (1934). Węgrzyn played the part with moderation, muting the means of expression he had employed previously to penetrate deeply into the character's psyche. In the 1930s, Węgrzyn also directed, focusing primarily on lighter repertoire, though he also staged Emil Zegadłowicz's contemporary play, Lampka oliwna / The Oil Lamp, and Mickiewicz's Konfederaci Barscy / The Confederates of Bar.
In 1911, Węgrzyn began appearing in Polish films, making a total of 50 appearances by 1939. These were mostly in camp farces, in which the actor performed in an exaggerated, comically grotesque manner, as in Wściekły rywal / The Furious Rival (1916). He did not play a more serious, dramatic role until 1921 when he appeared in the film, Uroda życia / The Beauty of Life. Films that turned out to be artistically ambitious included Dziesięciu z Pawiaka / Ten from Pawiak Prison (1931), in which Węgrzyn played a revolutionary, Księżna Łowicka / The Duchess of Łowicz (1932), in which Węgrzyn had a bit part as Łukasiński, and Dzieje grzechu / The History of Sin (1933) as Łukasz. Węgrzyn's greatest on-screen success came in Strachy / Ghosts, based on the novel by Maria Ukniewska (1938), in which he co-starred as the Russian ballet master, Dubienko.
After the outbreak of World War II, the actor was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned at the Pawiak Prison in Warsaw. He was probably arrested because he had played Battler in George Bernard Shaw's Geneva (Teatr Polski [Polish Theatre], 1939), a role in which Węgrzyn parodied Hitler. He was released from prison in 1940 and began working at the Warsaw theatres that were still in operation, including the Teatr Komedia and the Teatr Mały.
Immediately after the war, Węgrzyn found himself in the city of Łódź, where he continued to perform at the Teatr Wojska Polskiego / Polish Army Theatre, but he descended into alcoholism and depression caused by the wartime loss of his son who was murdered at Auschwitz. In 1948, Węgrzyn registered his final theatrical triumph with his incredibly popular performance in the role of Strzyga-Strzycki in Paul Schönthan's Porwanie Sabinek / The Rape of the Sabines. He died three years later.
Autor: Monika Mokrzycka-Pokora, December 2006