In this episode in Polish language, Adriana Raczykowski is in conversation with Lulla La Polaca, who is widely recognised as the oldest Drag Queen of Poland. She traces back her roots as a performer in times of PPR, and talks about musical inspirations, the importance of friendship and community, and her hopes and wishes for younger generations of drag artists in Poland today.

In conversation with

Andrzej Szwan

Andrzej Szwan was born in 1938 into a Jewish family in Warsaw, where he survived the Warsaw Ghetto and the Uprising in 1944. As a witness of these times, Andrzej often speaks about his experiences as a child in Second World War Warsaw and is an advocate of collective memory and commemoration. Andrzej always dreamed of studying theater, which he was not able to pursue professionally at the time. In the period of the Polish People’s Republic, Andrzej performed in crossdress in private spaces around friends and community where the persona Lulla was born, inspired by Polish pop cultural icons, such as Hanna Banaszak or Irena Santor.

After the fall of the Iron curtain, the term “Drag” started to appear in Poland - something associated generally with the opening towards “the West” and its cultural legacies. A key figure in that history (among various others) is the artist and activist Kim Lee. Lulla and Kim befriend each other in 2008 and it is Kim that brings Lulla to the Drag stage in 2012. In recent years media attention has risen intensively around Lulla and her performance, and this is how today she is widely known as the oldest Drag Queen of Poland and considered an icon of pop culture, who speaks openly against repression and violence against the LGBTQIA+ Community. Lulla has been the main character of the documentary “Boylesque” (2022) by director Bogna Kowalczyk and has recently also published a book about her life, “Lulla La Polaca”, authored by Wiktor Krajewski.

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References

Kim Lee – is a prominent figure in the Polish Drag scene, who is often attributed to be the Warsovian Queen of Drag. The Vietnamese-Polish artist & activist, born Andy Nguyen, played an integral role for the Warsaw Drag community as well as the Vietnamese diaspora. She passed away in 2020 in relation to COVID-19. In 2023 the Wola Museum (part of the Museum of Warsaw) presented an exhibition in memory of her legacy and artistry.

Hanna Banaszak – born 1957 in Poznań, is a Polish singer and songwriter. In 2014 she was awarded with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. Among her most famous songs are “Modlitwa” or “Pogoda ducha”.

Irena Santor – was born 1936 in the village of Papowo Biskupie, Poland. She performed as a singer and also starred as an actor in several movies and TV shows. Her Career started in 1950 as a member of the folk group Mazowsze and transitioned to perform as a soloist from 1959 on. She received numerous awards from Poland and internationally. In 2021 she decided to end her career.

Credits

Visuals

Episode cover and portrait of Lulla La Polaca by Marek Ziemakiewicz

Podcast Info

Curation and host for this episode

Adriana Raczykowski, Student Assistant, Leuphana University Lüneburg

Podcast Founder

Dr. Layla Zami, Postdoctoral Researcher in Performance Studies, FU Berlin

Producer

Freie Universität Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Intervening Arts

(SFB 1512 Intervenierende Künste, TP B05)

Funded by

German Research Society (DFG)

In Cooperation with

FU Berlin, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft

Eufoniker Audioproduktion