MEDIATHEK

Roman Polák (born 1957) – Studied theatre direction at VŠMU in Bratislava under Miloš Pietor. After graduating in 1982 he worked in the drama section of the State Theatre in Košice, and in 1984 started to work with the DSNP (now the Slovak Chamber Theatre) in Martin. From 1988 to 1990 he was the company's artistic head. The most famous of his productions at Martin represented Slovak theatre at international theatre festivals abroad – Marivaux's The Dispute (1988, The Guardian Critics' Choice Award) and Brecht's Baal (1989). In the Astorka – Korzo '90 theatre, where he was a house director and artistic head, his productions included a dramatisation of Kafka's The Trial (1992), and in the L+S studio Cyrano de Bergerac (1993). In the 1990s he produced a Russian tetralogy in the Astorka: Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (1995), Ostrovsky's The Forest (1997, Dosky award for production and direction), Gorky's Philistines – Scenes from the House of Bessemenov (1998, Dosky award for production) and Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment dramatised by J. Novák – Axe Murder in St. Petersburg (1999). Some time later, he also produced an adaptation of Summer Folk – Play Gorky (2004). From 2006 until 2008 he was director of the drama section of the Slovak National Theatre. "Polák's productions combine an intellectual approach with a social view of man that leads more than once to the shocking revelation of the characters' dark and mysterious core." (Roman Císař) Now a freelancer, he is one of the most distinctive directors in Slovak theatre, his assured style brimming with feeling for the large canvas, the artistic aspect and work with actors. He is also forceful in his interpretations of texts.