INAUGURATION OF THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLIC THEATRE IN POLAND
2015 marks the 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLIC THEATRE IN POLAND. The celebration began on February 12, 2015 at the National Helena Modrzejewska Stary Teatr with a ceremony involving artists, creators, and representatives of public theaters and Prof. Małgorzata Omilanowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage. The evening ended with the unveiling of a new curtain created for the main stage of Stary Teatr in recognition of 250 YEARS OF PUBLIC THEATRE IN POLAND and with the staging of Trilogy, directed by Jan Klata.
On December 1, 2014 the Polish Sejm announced that 2015 would be the Year of Polish Theatre. This decision was connected with the fact that 250 years ago this November the first performance was delivered by a playing company founded at the initiative of King Stanisław August Poniatowski. The group served as the seed of the oldest public, national theater in Poland, which would eventually come to be known as Teatr Narodowy (The National Theatre). The celebration consists not only of dozens of theater shows on a common theme that were produced throughout the country, but also of educational events, exhibitions, competitions, and activities in urban spaces.
The events are coordinated by the Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute in Warsaw.
THEATRE ON A HUMAN SCALE TICKETS FOR 250 GROSZY
The main event in the celebration of the 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLIC THEATRE IN POLAND, an event involving every single public theatre, is the universal, nationwide campaign enabling everyone in Poland to buy a theatre ticket for the symbolic price of 250 groszy.
The goal of the project is to highlight the role that theatre plays in contemporary life as a place to reflect, discuss, and share opinions. Public theatre, financed by public funds.
MAY 23 – the DAY OF PUBLIC THEATRE – shows will be performed at the special ticket price in every theatre.
PUBLIC THEATRE. UP CLOSE
www.250teatr.pl
A special website providing information about events connected with the anniversary. It contains descriptions of projects being implemented all over Poland, a calendar of events, virtual exhibitions, walking tours, radio interviews, and other related materials. All throughout 2015, it will be supplemented and expanded daily.
THEATRE WALKING TOURS
Citywide actions whose main goal is to spread culture on a local scale. Theatre-themed walking tours are organized for residents (and conducted by local tour guides). The proposed routes present an opportunity for an unconventional way of viewing and learning about the theatrical – and hence cultural – history of the city.
THEATRE PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST CONNECTED WITH A TRAVELLING EXHIBITION
In September 2014, the Theatre Institute announced the Theatre Photography Contest, which consists of two categories: a contest for a series of photographs documenting the rehearsal process and the resulting theatre production, and a contest for “Theatre Photo of the Season.” The second category leaves it up to the photographer to determine how to interpret the subject. Winning photos will be exhibited outdoors or indoors in Polish cities in the form of a travelling exhibition.
ELECTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POLISH THEATRE
An online compendium of knowledge on Polish theatre. An expanded platform that integrates existing digital resources on Polish theatre, source databases, and new archives, and an electronic library and reading room for digital periodicals, enabling users to make use of information organized in a traditional manner and to create their own histories by accessing a multitude of narratives. Dr. Wojciech Dudzik and Prof. Dariusz Kosiński are responsible for the supervising the project as a whole.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AT TEATR NARODOWY
The Theatre Institute and Teatr Narodowy are joining forces to organize an international conference on the role and importance of national theatres throughout the world. The conference will take place on November 20 and 21 during the upcoming edition of the Meeting of National Theaters.
EXHIBITIONS
In February 2015, two virtual exhibitions prepared by the Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute “opened” at the Google Cultural Institute: “The History of National Theatre in Poland” (in cooperation with Teatr Narodowy) and “250 YEARS OF PUBLIC THEATRE IN POLAND.”
You can visit the exhibitions here: www.google.com/culturalinstitute/u/0/exhibit/polski-teatr-publiczny/QRJWi6sF