Anna Smolar

Anna Smolar was born in France in 1980. She studied literature at the Sorbonne in Paris and works as a theater director, translator, and dramaturg. In Poland, she is considered one of the most important contemporary directors. From 2010 to 2021, she taught theater education and social art at the University of Warsaw. In 2016, she received the “Polityka Passport” Culture Award for “an intimate and empathetic theater that approaches marginalized topics with great imagination and humor” as well as for “the consistent expansion of the theater field and the willingness and ability to engage in dialogue with every audience member.” Following a residency at Warsaw’s Nowy Teatr from 2017 to 2019, she curated the 2022 season “Tough Love” at Teatr Komuna Warszawa and the 2023/2024 season “Hosts” at TR Warszawa. She translated Grażyna Jagielska’s book “Love Made of Stone” into French. As part of Oliver Frljić’s “Europe Ensemble” project, she directed Henrietta Lacks and Erazm/Erasmus at the Nowy Teatr in Warsaw. Her most significant directing projects have been play developments with the respective ensembles: in 2020, she directed “The End of Eddy,” based on the novel by Édouard Louis, at Studio Teatr in Warsaw; in 2021, she directed the most famous Polish opera, “Halka,” at the Narodowy Stary Teatr in Kraków; and in 2022, she directed “Hungry Ghosts” at the Münchner Kammerspiele.

Anna Smolar explores the paradoxes of our collective psyche and social order, examining the significance of care, solidarity, and loneliness in today’s world. In her works “Slow Motion” (2019) and “The Birds” (2025), which were performed at the National Theater in Vilnius, she addresses mechanisms of violence in the workplace, particularly in the arts. Her play “Melodrama,” staged in 2023 at Teatr Powszechny in Warsaw, deconstructs mechanisms of codependency and was awarded Best Direction at the “Divine Comedy” International Theater Festival. The production “Orpheus,” staged at TR Warszawa in 2024, explores the social dimension of grief and was awarded the Grand Prix as well as the prize for best direction at the Contemporary Polish Art Exhibition competition. In “A Woman Alone,” a co-production between Teatr Powszechny and the 2025 International Malta Festival, she addresses systemic violence against single mothers and received the Swinarski Award for Best Direction.

Other critically acclaimed productions include “Jewish Actors,” a mockumentary performance by Michał Buszewicz at the Jewish Theater; “Cinderella” by Joël Pommerat at the Narodowy Stary Teatr; and “Antigone in Molenbeek,” a mini-opera based on a text by Stefan Hertmans at Warsaw’s Teatr Dramatyczny. “Cowboys” at the Juliusz Osterwa Theater in Lublin, which addresses the crisis in the education system, was awarded the Grand Prix at the 2018 Premieren Festival in Bydgoszcz. In November 2025, she made her debut at the Opéra de Lille with “The Spray of Days,” based on Boris Vian’s novel “L’écume des jours.” With “Eurydice and Orpheus,” she is presenting her second production at the Munich Kammerspiele.