Jerzy Limon

Jerzy Limon (1950–2021) was a Shakespeare specialist, author and translator. He founded the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre and was its first director. In collaboration with Władysław Zawistowski he translated two Shakespeare plays: Antoniusz i Kleopatra (1992) and Trojlus i Kressyda (1990).

He studied English Literature at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, where he completed his doctorate. From 1980 he was affiliated with the University of Gdańsk, where he became a full professor in 1993. His research interests include the influence of Elizabethan theatre across central and eastern Europe, and the relationship between theatre and politics during the reign of James I. He wrote about the semiotics of drama and the theatre, and published collections of essays: Między niebem a sceną: Przestrzeń i czas w teatrze (Between the Sky and the Stage: Space and Time in the Theatre, 2002), Trzy Teatry (Three Theatres, 2004), Piąty wymiar teatru (The Fifth Dimension of the Theatre, 2006) and Obroty przestrzeni (Revolutions in Space, 2008). He won many awards, including the Gloria Artis Silver Medal (2006) and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2011). In 2014 Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary officer in the Order of the British Empire. In 2019 he received the Pragnell Shakespeare Award for his contribution to Shakespeare studies and the dissemination of knowledge about Shakespeare.

Limon and Zawistowski’s translations are characterised by a strong coherence between the approach to translation and the specific concepts of particular productions. The decision to work collaboratively reflected the Elizabethan practice of multiple authorship, with different scenes written by specialist playwrights and then the question of continuity smoothed out on the stage. The division of labour between Limon and Zawistowski was not made explicit, but it can be inferred from their comments that Limon used his expertise on Shakespeare language to produce a first draft of the text.

Both translations were published for use in the theatre and then re-issued twice in a complete editorial version. In their second edition, the plays were made accessible online for free. Limon and Zawistowski were the first Polish translators of Shakespeare whose work was available in a digital format.

Reviews of the productions drew attention to the accessibility and earthiness of the new translation. There was a new production of Antoniusz i Kleopatra in 2016, using the text as part of compilation with other translations.