A Dream

The translation of Felicja Kruszewska'sA Dreamintroduces a major play by a twentieth-century female playwright to the English-speaking world. On March 7, 1927A Dream- a large-scale expressionistic drama by an unknown poet - burst on the Polish theatrical scene in a dazzling debut production by the young actor Edmund Wiercinski, who would become one of the outstanding directors of his time. The play's hallucinatory visions of the rise of fascism and the heroine's longing for a providential savior on a white horse spoke directly to Polish audiences about their deepest anxieties. During the next two yearsDreamreceived three additional stagings and became the subject of lively debate and controversy. The play, which has been successfully revived in 1974, is an outstanding example of European expressionism. The volume also containsAn Excursion to the Museum, by the contemporary Polish poet, playwright, and short-story writer Tadeusz Rozewicz. A disturbing account of anutterly mundane visit to Auschwitz, the tale is a brilliant example of the playwright's technique of poetic collage.