Theater owner's Sejm struggle
Legierski is the owner and founder of one of Warsaw's top independent cultural and theatrical clubs, Le Madame. Following a television interview last year with Legierski on the subject of civil unions for homosexuals, Deputy Anna Sobecka from the League of Polish Families (LPR) told the Sejm that it was not right that "a person who is not even partially of Polish nationality take part in a debate about matters that are fundamental for Poland."
Legierski has taken the matter up with the parliament's ethics committee, which so far has not censured the deputy.
'Sacrilegious' theater attracts LPR's ire
LPR member and Białystok local government representative Zenon Dziedzic recently told Piotr Tomaszuk, the director of the Wierszaliń theater in Białystok, to "cut the bull s--t," or "stop f---ing around" (depending on how one translates).
Dziedzic's outburst came during a routine local government session in Białystok, which was deliberating on whether or not to co-finance the Wierszaliń Theater. The theater has been accused by some of the local authorities of being sacrilegious, most recently for putting on a play about St. Vilgefortis, a woman who was crucified for her love of God (government authorities that had not seen the play mistook the main character for Jesus, and criticized the theater for portraying Jesus as a woman).
Recently, LPR Senator Jan Szafraniec has written an open letter to the Minister of Culture beseeching him to censure the Wierszaliń Theater, which, Szafraniec says, profanes the sacred.
Radio Maryja causing 'division'
The Primate of the Catholic Church in Poland, Józef Glemp, has accused Father Tadeusz Rydzyk and his station, Radio Maryja, of bringing division to the church.
Earlier, Pope Benedict XVI warned Polish bishops to guard against a situation wherein Poland's Catholic media becomes a political partisan in temporal factions. Following these words, Poland's Primate said: "If Radio Maryja wishes to be Catholic and to spread the teaching of the Catholic Church, it must forge unity, and yet we see that it leads to division."
The Primate said that Radio Maryja "promotes a specific type of Godliness, and selectively approaches the teachings of the Church, considering itself to be the true Church, which in consequence leads to division."
Porno fears over new version of 'Wozzeck'
The upcoming theatrical premiere of Krzysztof Warlikowski's version of Wozzeck, to be performed in Warsaw's National Opera House, is already provoking controversy. Even before the play has opened critics have accused it of being pornographic.
Rumors that Mateo di Monti, a singer who performs in the play, will be seen in one scene naked and surrounded by children have led to protests from some areas.
Initially, di Monti was said to have been frolicking on stage in his underwear. The Vice Minister of Culture, Jarosław Selin, said that it would be "absurd of us to intervene in such a matter." However, another government official, the Guardian of Children's Rights, Paweł Jaros, has said he will consider intervening in the matter.
Private screenings of the performance for the child actors' parents have satisfied them that there is nothing offensive in the performance.
The lady's not a tramp
Le Madame, regarded as the center of Warsaw's independent artistic and cultural community, has been battling complaints from nearby residents to keep its doors open for many months. Now, many locals seem to have changed their minds in the face of plans to replace the club with a hotel and shopping venue.
Wiesława Majewska, one of the residents of Warsaw's Old Town who previously led the crusade to get Le Madame expelled from its' premises, is now having second thoughts. Initially, she fomented hostility against the club and her activity elicited numerous calls from neighbors to the police complaining about the club.
Now it appears Majewska has changed her mind. "It would be impossible for us to negotiate or oppose a rich hotel developer," she said.
