The main goal of the competition organized by The Ester Rachel and Ida Kaminska Jewish Theater was to “acquire new, valuable dramatic texts inspired by Jewish topics and promote contemporary theatrical literature, developing dialogue and understanding regardless of differences between people due to race, gender, religion and social position.”

Nearly one hundred pieces from Poland and around the world were submitted to the competition including works written from various perspectives, by authors from various cultures and of several generations. The competition works include texts immersed in the rhythm of modern times, dramas referring to the tragedy of the Holocaust, the experiences of March 1968, as well as works deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition, reaching back to the distant past.

The jury chaired by Gołda Tencer, director of the Jewish Theater, awarded the 1st Prize in the amount of PLN 30,000 to Elżbieta Łapczyńska for the play “Ship Utopia”. The Mayor of Warsaw Award was received by Iddo Netanyahu for the play “Don Samuel Abravanel”, the Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage was received by Marta Szamani Yacoub for the play “Has Anyone Seen Hedwig Klein?” The award for Polish art by TVP Culture was granted to Ewa Sułek for “The Paddle of Jacob”, and the Prize of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum was awarded to Jarosław Wójcik for his play “A Room with a View”.

Adrian Andrzejewski