Graduate of the Acting Department of the Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Krakow /2013/

1 September 2020 – National Stary Theatre, Krakow

One of the most recognizable actors of his generation, charismatic, dauntless in taking on the most difficult choreographic challenges on stage, singled out by Aneta Kyzioł for having played the best male role in the 2017/2018 season for the play “Cezary Goes to War” (Teatr), where “some choreographic études performed by marvellous actors, who were at once dancers and singers, recall the acrobat shows in praise of Stalin that can now be seen in documentary films immortalizing the joyful marches and parades with their underlying fear” (Krystyna Duniec, dwutygodnik.com). The whole acting ensemble was honoured for this production at the Divine Comedy Festival 2017 by an international jury in the Team category, at the Premieres Festival in 2018 in Bydgoszcz and at the MESS Festival in Sarajevo in 2018. On the stage of the National Stary Theatre, Łukasz Stawarczyk has appeared in “Fiasco” (work in progress) by Magda Szpecht, based on the Stanisław Lem novel.

This artist does not shy from the most challenging thespian tasks, fully participating in the creation of the plays, as in “Dead Girls Wanted” by Jolanta Janiczak and Wiktor Rubin, where Łukasz Stawarczyk is “splendid in the role of Whitney Houston – dressed in white furs, he plunges his head into the water of a zinc tub every few sentences” (Monika Krawczak, “Byłam widziałam” blog) and delivers a personal monologue on being an actor. In “That’s All” by Piotr Wawer Sr., where he co-created the concept of this remarkable play: “Wawer Senior and Stawarczyk draw from the wide repertoire of their abilities, such as voice modulation or more or less expressive gestures, which means that, apart from following the action, we have the opportunity to observe a duel between two generations of actors” (Wiktoria Tabak, Didaskalia).

Stawarczyk also earned glowing reviews for Tomasz Cymerman’s “Without Me”: “In the inventive, minimalist set design (…) the young, effusive actors (bravo to all three: Sylwia Gola, Miłosz Karbownik, and Łukasz Stawarczyk) depict the story of sensitive Janek, commenting on their own activities, communicating with the viewer in a Brechtian spirit” (Marcin Miętus, Teatr). “Łukasz Stawarczyk (…), making a guest appearance in this performance, was a perfect match for the ensemble” (Ryszard Zatorski, Nasz Dom Rzeszów). In “Beniowski: King of Madagascar” he charms not only with his acting, but also with his physical prowess: ‘Świątek gave them a challenging task, but I believe they all acquitted themselves splendidly. The sweat streams, but they do not give in, holding the viewers’ attention to the closing minutes of the performance” (Joanna Kwiatkowska, Teatr dla Was).

Łukasz Stawarczyk has worked on many stages in Poland, including the avant-garde Komuna/Warszawa, Łaźnia Nowa, and Instytut Sztuk Performatywnych, the W. Bogusławski Theatre in Kalisz, the Polski Theatre in Bydgoszcz, the Nowy in Krakow, the IMKA in Warsaw, and abroad, at the Schauspielhaus Bochum, FFT Dusseldorf, and Ringlokschuppen Mulheim an der Ruhr. Since 2011 he has belonged to the international kainkollektiv group, with whom he has worked in various countries.