There are many examples of plays about life in the orphanage and Janusz Korczak’s life that were produced all over the world or that are waiting to be staged. Here are some of them:
Kaytek the Wizard – Puppet Show
Written by Janusz Korczak, puppet production by master puppeteer Brian Hull
June 2016 – Nashville International Puppet Festival
“I discovered the book Kaytek the Wizard by Janusz Korczak while at work at a library, and instantly was intrigued. I fell in love with this English adaptation by Antonia-Lloyd Jones, and was forever moved when I learned more about the author. It was apparent to me that Korczak was writing in a remarkable way that brought lessons with marvelous storytelling. As my profession is creating children’s shows with puppetry, I contacted the publisher to get permissions to use this translation and began work – one year later, the puppet show premiered at the Nashville International Puppet Festival and has gone on to perform at theaters and performing arts centers with more and more children being introduced to this beautiful story written by a remarkable man.”
For more information, click here.
Timmy the Great
Written by Sandra Hochman, music by Gary Kupper, directed by Jay Binder and Julie Arenal
August 2013 – Theater for the New City, New York City
The play is inspired by “King Matt the First,” Korczak’s novel that, despite its dark themes, is a remnant of a more hopeful time. While Sandra Hochman values Korczak’s exploration of war and power as they relate to children, “Timmy” is as lighthearted as “Matt” is dark. “It’s a very joyful, funny show,” she said. “As well as having some moments of grim reality.” “King Matt the First” and “Timmy the Great” use humor and adventure to reveal to children the cruel ways of the adult world, perhaps so that the next generation will know better.
For more information, click here.
Dr. Korczak’s Example
Written by David Greig and directed by Sam Conway
September – November 2012, Unicorn Theatre, London
What is more important – life or how you live it? Dr Korczak was a Polish doctor and writer, who passionately championed every child’s right to freedom, respect and love. Dr Korczak’s Example is set in the final days of an orphanage in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw, where food is scarce, tempers rise and everyone wants to survive. Award-winning playwright David Greig tells this powerful tale of Korczak’s refusal to abandon the young people in his care, and focuses on the human need for respect and hope, even in the face of injustice.
For more information, visit PolishCulture.org.uk.
Confessions of a Butterfly
Written by Jonathan Salt and directed by Sam Conway
September 2012, Lion and Unicorn Theater, London – Produced by Ojemba Productions
Confession of the Butterfly is a one-man theatre piece about the life of Janusz Korczak, and performed for the first time in 2012 for the 70th anniversary year of his death. In 1940 Korczak’s Jewish orphanage was closed by the Nazis, and Korczak, his staff and the children were moved into the Warsaw Ghetto. Despite offers of escape he always refused to abandon them to their fate. It is August 5th 1942. We spend the last hours in his company in the Ghetto orphanage as he contemplates his life and prepares to meet his destiny. Janusz Korczak leads the 200 children in his care through the streets of the Warsaw Ghetto to the trains waiting to transport them to their deaths in Treblinka.
For more information, visit GiantOlive.com.
Plays Waiting to be Performed:
Korczak’s Children
Written by Jeffrey Hatcher
Drama for young audiences, 100 – 120 minutes
World War Two. The Nazi Occupation of Poland. Dr. Janusz Korczak — writer, educator, physician, and passionate advocate for children — tries to keep the 200 Jewish boys and girls of his famed Warsaw orphanage alive and hopeful in the face of unbelievable deprivation and terror. In the horrible conditions of the Jewish Ghetto, Korczak does everything within his power to make sure his children are fed and clothed, cared for and safe. But there are rumors of a change in the ghetto. Tales of deportations to concentration camps are spreading. And Korczak knows time may be running out. Against the rules of the ghetto, he permits his orphans to stage a magical play — The Post Office — to teach them about the one adult subject he has not yet broached with them: death. As the play is rehearsed, the rumors become reality, and Korczak must decide who can be saved and who must go on the final journey together.
For more information, visit Playscripts.com.
King Machush the First
A Theatrical Approach by Robert M. Weiss
King Machush the First is celebrated throughout Poland and Europe as a masterpiece of children’s literature. The novel has inspired films, plays, and even an opera. However, despite at least four English translations of Korczak’s work, the book has not taken hold in the United States. I believe there are many reasons for this. My play adaptation was composed in part to deal with some of these reasons, and, hopefully, to enable Americans to gain more insight into this children’s masterpiece. I place great emphasis on Machush as a reformer, and I see parallels with King Arthur in Lerner and Loewe’s musical, Camelot, which affected the play’s structure. My play is an attempt to bring out what is universal in Korczak’s novel, and remove the stereotypes, making it acceptable to a wider American audience.
The author would be interested in any feedback or further ideas on the topic. He can be reached at his email address: forestbreeze40@earthlink.net or through his blog at river4827.wordpress.com where you can find more information about the play. You can also find details about the author and his play in the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada’s article, A Korczakian on the Rogue River Click here (pages 137-142).
Dr. Yanush Korczak
By Alina Kentof, based on A Field of Buttercups by Joseph Hyams. You can find more information about the play and the script here.
Rights of the Child Before the Court
Written by Laura Koba, Ph.D.
Staging of the court hearing based on Janusz Korczak’s Peer Arbitration Panel
For more information contact Janusz Korczak Association of the USA at info@korczakusa.com.
Ten Matchboxes by Janusz Korczak
Adopted by Amichai Pardo and Ruth Kanner, translated from Hebrew by Anthony Berris
For more information contact Janusz Korczak Association of the USA at info@korczakusa.com.
Korczak and the Children
Written by Erwin Sylvanus, translated from German by Eva Boehm-Jospe
A play in One Act
The play records the incident that took place in the year 1942.
For more information contact Janusz Korczak Association of the USA at info@korczakusa.com.