Milestones
The tradition of Kraków’s theatre is long and rich, abounding in phenomena and individuals forming an indelible part of Polish and global history.
Tomasz Domagała
When I sat down to write this article, I was struck by how difficult it will be to encapsulate the 240 years of Cracovian theatre in just a thousand or so words. And since all the cultural milestones are linked with specific spots on the city’s map, I decided to prepare a theatre-themed tour, albeit, sadly, highly selective.
Let’s start at the vast tenement house at no. 34 at the Main Market Square, known as the Spiski Palace. To quote Jerzy Got, an important Cracovian theatre scholar: “On 17 October 1781, Kraków’s magistrate granted permission to Mateusz Witkowski to ‘stage comedies under the condition that he pay 50 zlotys’ into the city coffers.” This sealed the foundation of Poland’s first permanent, public and professional theatre in Kraków. Witkowski’s actors performed at the somewhat modified Lubomirski Theatre, located at the Spiski Palace until 1798 when the new owner of the enterprise, Jacek Kluszewski, moved the theatre to his two tenement houses at the corner of Szczepański Square, making extensive adaptations. This is the origin of the location of today’s National Stary [Old – trans.] Theatre. It has a long and turbulent history: during the 19th century, the director Stanisław Koźmian introduced wide-reaching reforms to the acting and directing methods, leading to the rise of the Kraków School whose main focus was on collectivism. The acting troupe included legends such as Antonina Hoffmann, Feliks Benda, Bolesław Ładnowski, Bolesław Leszczyński and Wincenty Rapacki. The brightest star was Poland’s greatest all-time actress Helena Modrzejewska, patron of Stary Theatre since 1956. Her huge portrait (a copy of Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz’s acclaimed painting) now hangs in the foyer of the theatre at the junction of Jagiellońska Street and Szczepański Square.
This collective spirit became something of a Cracovian speciality, giving rise to the legend of Stary Theatre of the 1970s, mainly associated with spectacles directed by Konrad Swinarski, Jerzy Jarocki and Andrzej Wajda, and the team of actors and other artists led by Anna Polony, Ewa Lassek, Teresa Budzisz-Krzyżanowska, Izabela Olszewska, Mirosława Dubrawska, Krystyna Zachwatowicz, Jerzy Trela, Jerzy Bińczycki, Marek Walczewski, Wiktor Sadecki, Jerzy Stuhr, Jerzy Radziwiłowicz, Jan Nowicki, Stanisław Radwan and Zygmunt Konieczny.
And since I mentioned the great composer Zygmunt Konieczny, let’s get back to the Main Market Square, or more specifically the Pod Baranami Palace at no. 27, where Piotr Skrzynecki founded one of Kraków’s most famous theatrical institutions: Piwnica Pod Baranami – a literary cabaret which continues to be an indelible part of the city’s legend until the present day. Konieczny (and others) wrote the music, while other artists sang songs and performed spectacles popularising this special venue and Kraków itself far beyond Poland’s borders. Alongside Piotr Skrzynecki, the main icon of Piwnica Pod Baranami is undoubtedly Ewa Demarczyk, whose unforgettable hits are a canon of Polish literary song.
Let’s wander from the Main Market Square to the Św. Ducha Square, dominated by the imposing building of the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre (formerly Municipal Theatre). One of the most precious examples of theatre architecture in Europe, it was designed by Jan Zawiejski. Its interiors are adorned with frescoes by the Viennese artist Antoni Tuch, and the famous curtain was designed by the artist Henryk Siemiradzki. It is now also home to the beautiful curtain designed by Stanisław Wyspiański, who competed with Siemiradzki for the original design. Made a few years ago following Wyspiański’s original drawings, it is now a major attraction. The hugely talented, charismatic artist was the most acclaimed individual involved with the theatre as dramaturgist, poet, director, set designer and painter. It was here that the most spectacular theatre performance of all time in Poland was held on 16 March 1901: the premiere of Wyspiański’s The Wedding. The drama remains the most acclaimed of Polish stage plays, alongside Mickiewicz’s Forefathers’ Eve (also staged here by Wyspiański).
From the Św. Ducha Square it’s just a few steps to Sienna Street, home to the artist Tadeusz Kantor, legend of Cracovian and Polish theatre and a major influence on generations of theatre artists all over the globe. Born in Wielopole Skrzyńskie in the Podkarpacie region, he spent his entire artistic life in Kraków where he founded Cricot 2 – one of Poland’s most recognisable theatres (alongside the Grotowski Laboratory Theatre). Founded in 1955, it was originally located at the Artists’ House at Łobzowska Street, moving to the cellars of the Krzysztofory Palace in 1961. The Dead Class, Today Is My Birthday, Let the Artists Die, I Shall Never Return and of course Wielopole, Wielopole are all major milestones of world theatre. Today, Tadeusz Kantor and his spectacles are familiar to all theatre fans. I should also mention Cricoteka at Kanonicza Street, which formerly held the archive, warehouse and rehearsal space. A few years ago, Kraków decided to pay formal homage to the artist by creating the Cricoteka Centre for Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor on the banks of the Vistula. You can admire the imposing building from the Fr. Bernatek Footbridge as you head into Podgórze.
Finally, I must mention the youngest child of Cracovian theatre: Utopia Home – International Empathy Centre at the renovated and specially adapted post-industrial former Electrical School Complex at the Szkolne estate in Nowa Huta. Małgorzata and Bartosz Szydłowski have made their dream come true of creating a theatre as a space for encounters between artists and local residents. It is the result of the twenty-five years of hard work by artists from the Łaźnia Theatre Association and the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre who made their artistic home in the heart of Nowa Huta. And there’s good reason for mentioning this initiative: it is a beautiful symbol of the continuing traditions of Cracovian theatre, serving as a bridge linking its dazzling, rich past with the future, which – although vague – is certainly filled with optimism.
Tomasz Domagała
Theatre critic, author of the blog DOMAGAŁAsięKULTURY, jury member of the Divine Comedy International Festival in Kraków and curator of the New Theatre Festival in Rzeszów. Juror of the 5th and 6th Competition for Staging Early Polish Literary Works “Living Classics”. He has been published in periodicals including “Teatr”, “Rzeczpospolita”, “Tygodnik Powszechny” and “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”. Editor at Polish Radio between 2018 and 2020. He has been publishing reviews and interviews with representatives of the world of theatre on her website since 2014.
The text was published in the 3/2021 issue of the “Kraków Culture” quarterly.
