The radio play ‘Heart. About Juliusz Mieroszewski’
On 2 June 2024, Radio Two presented premiere the radio play ‘Serce. About Juliusz Mieroszewski’. The radio play is a unique artistic endeavour of the Mieroszewski Centre and the Konglomeart Foundation, aiming to bring closer the figure of Juliusz Mieroszewski - a prominent journalist, publicist and political writer whose theses formulated in the pages of the Parisian ‘Kultura’ are still extremely relevant today.
The radio play was preceded by a discussion about the Centre's patron on 31 May at 9 p.m. on Polish Radio Two, in which Wacław Cholewiński's guests will be Prof. Rafał Habielski, Polish historian, and Dr Ernest Wyciszkiewicz, the Centre's director and political scientist. The conversation can be listened here.
The story of the radio play takes listeners through various aspects of Mieroszewski's life, from his youth in Krakow to the events of the Second World War and his political emigration.
Juliusz Mieroszewski is a character with a rich personality who displayed a wide range of interests, including politics, literature and philosophy. Mieroszewski was associated with the Parisian magazine Kultura, where he published. As a political activist, he fought for rights and freedoms for eastern countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. His concept of ULB (Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus) was an attempt to draw attention to these countries as important elements of Poland's foreign policy.
Central to the radio play is the story of the heart transplant, a symbol of the flow of ideas and culture between Poland and its eastern neighbours. The heart transplant also relates to the essence of Mieroszewski's life's work, in the context of politics, and symbolises devotion to the cause, passion, ideas, and perseverance in fighting for one's beliefs. The way Mieroszewski treats the ‘heart’ of politics reflects his commitment to the pursuit of freedom, democracy and sovereignty for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
This metaphor also refers to the need to understand other cultures, to integrate with them and to build bridges between different nations. In this way, ‘The Heart. On Juliusz Mieroszewski’ becomes a story about how cultural and political diversity can be the key to international understanding and cooperation, especially between Poland and its eastern neighbours such as Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus.
The script for the radio play was written by Marta Sokołowska, playwright and winner of the Krakow City of Literature UNESCO Award, and directed by Maciej Wiktor, film and theatre director. The music was composed by Yegor Zabelov, a Belarusian accordion virtuoso.
Cast:
Juliusz Mieroszewski - Piotr Grabowski
Kazimierz Mieroszewski - Piotr Napieraj
Inka - Jadwiga Czechowicz - Dagny Mikoś
Marek - Karol Kadłubiec
Maria - Magdalena Kozikowska-Pieńko
Doctor - Anna Demczuk
Julia - Jagoda Rall
Frost + Heart - Paweł Gładyś
Directed by: Maciej Wiktor
Screenplay: Marta Sokołowska
Music: Yegor Zabelov
Sound design: Katarzyna Figat