Polski Theatre, Wrocław
Company
photo Natalia Kabanow
Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2016, Polski Theatre in Wrocław is Wrocław’s oldest, Lower Silesia’s largest and Poland’s second largest dramatic theatre. Polski has a stellar multi-generational ensemble and operates three performance spaces: the Grzegorzewski Stage (presenting modern reworkings of the classics), the Świebodzki Stage (showcasing experimentation) and the Small Stage (combing comedy and music theatre). The landmark periods in the history of the theatre coincided with the tenures of its artistic directors: Henryk Szletyński, who created Polski’s ensemble of actors, Jakub Rotbaum, who developed a classic repertory, Zygmunt Hübner, founder of the Festival of Polish Contemporary Arts, Krystyna Skuszanka and Jerzy Krasowski, who connected with younger audiences through educational outreach programmes, Jerzy Grzegorzewski, a visionary artist, and Jacek Weksler, a consummate manager who collaborated with the greatest Polish directors: Jerzy Jarocki and Krystian Lupa. In 2006–2016, the directorship was held by Krzysztof Mieszkowski. Over that period the theatre staged almost 50 premieres, including Jan Klata’s Danton’s Case, Monika Strzępka’s Courtney Love, Michał Zadara’s Forefathers’ Eve and Krystian Lupa’s Holzfällen. Polski’s shows have been seen and awarded in Poland and beyond – in Argentine, Belarus, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland. In September 2016, the reigns were taken over by Cezary Morawski.
