Portraits of War Refugees in Contemporary Polish Drama for Children

From the perspective of the history of literature, war is a fundamental and crucial motif, present in a vast range of texts created by different cultures in different periods. Refugees are one of the brutal, yet usual, consequences of armed conflicts. However, neither the war nor its victims are commonly considered typical themes in dramas for children. Similarly to other so-called “difficult topics,” like death or illness, they used to be perceived as a certain taboo, absent from the art for the youngest audience. This paper aims to present different artistic strategies for portraying refugees and war victims in contemporary Polish drama for children. The analysis was based on practical examples and contains deeper insights into three texts written by the most frequently staged Polish playwrights. Although the article focuses on local dramaturgy, the context of adaptations of foreign literature was also included. The article is meant to fill the gap in the literature involving image of refugees in Polish theatre and drama for children, yet to be investigated.