Gabriela Zapolska

Who was Gabriela Zapolska?

Maria Gabriela Stefania Korwin-Piotrowska, known as Gabriela Zapolska, was a Polish novelist, playwright, naturalist writer, feuilletonist, theatre critic and stage actress. Zapolska wrote 41 plays, 23 novels, 177 short stories, 252 works of journalism, one film script, and over 1,500 letters.

Zapolska received most recognition for her socio-satirical comedies. Among them, Moralność pani Dulskiej – a tragic-farce about petty-bourgeois – is considered the most famous internationally. It is regarded as a landmark of early modernist Polish drama. Her stage plays were translated into foreign languages, and performed at Polish and European theatres, as well as adapted for radio and film. Zapolska herself acted on stage in over 200 plays in Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Lwów, Saint Petersburg and Paris.