Jakub Krofta

Biography

Director, playwright, and educator; a graduate of the directing program at DAMU. From 1995 to 2012, he served as director and artistic director at the DRAK Theatre in Hradec Králové, where he created a number of significant productions (e.g., Everything That Has Feathers Flies and the Jumping Out of Childhood series). On the Prague stage, he became known to audiences and critics alike for, among other things, his production of Spoon River Anthology at the Dejvické divadlo. He is currently the artistic director of the Wrocław Puppet Theatre (Wrocławski Teatr Lalek), which under his leadership ranks among the most acclaimed Polish theatres for children and youth.

For his work in Poland, he has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Jan Dorman Honorary Award (2008) for exploring modern theatrical language and addressing important themes of adolescence. His production Sam, or Preparation for Life in a Family (*Sam, czyli Przygotowanie do Życia w Rodzinie*) won the Grand Prix at the 20th edition of the All-Poland Competition for the Best Staged Contemporary Play. In the 23rd edition of the same competition, he received a Special Award for his consistent promotion of contemporary drama and fostering of dialogue with the audience, particularly the young. Together with Maria Wojtyszko, they are recipients of the Wrocław Theater Award for the production Hell-Heaven (Piekło-Niebo).