Plays

1989 is a production directed by Katarzyna Szyngiera featuring formal references to 'Hamilton'. Lin-Manuel Miranda's revolutionary musical introduced rap to Broadway, proposing a novel language of storytelling attractive to both younger and older audiences. The person behind the sound of our musical is one of the best Polish rap producers – Andrzej Mikosz "Webber", known e.g. for his long-term collaboration with "Łona".

1989 is a production directed by Katarzyna Szyngiera featuring formal references to 'Hamilton'. Lin-Manuel Miranda's revolutionary musical introduced rap to Broadway, proposing a novel language of storytelling attractive to both younger and older audiences. The person behind the sound of our musical is one of the best Polish rap producers – Andrzej Mikosz "Webber", known e.g. for his long-term collaboration with "Łona".

A Christmas Carol bears as much relevance today as it did in Dickens' time. A world devoid of compassion and solidarity, in which an indifferent rich man determines the lives of entire families, did not end when humanity entered the post-modern era. Nevertheless, the authors of the play do not want to dwell on this grim diagnosis. Their aim is to look with compassion and understanding at the character of Ebeneezer Scrooge.

The stage setting of this Victorian story of a miser haunted by ghosts serves merely as a pretext to talk about the misery of a man who does not love himself. Because Scrooge, much like the mythical Narcissus, only sees the surface, and is incapable of introspection, and thus of love. In this sense, the central character of A Christmas Carol is more of a victim of the circumstances in which he happens to live than a villain. His transformation is not only a shift from egoism to empathy, but also breaking free of the stereotypical perception of one' s role in the world.

Produced in collaboration with the National Bank of Poland.

The heroine and narrator of Mała empiria / A Small Empiricism tries to grasp the specific nature of middle age. It is a moment suspended between youth and old age, when you are still independent of others, yet you experience others, such as your own parents, being dependant on you. The world seems at your hand’s reach, yet you no longer have the motivation to reach for anything that would require effort and stepping outside the comfort zone built up over the years. Ewelina Żak, an actress known to Kraków audiences for her nuanced, subtle, and witty performances guides us in this production through a series of everyday epiphanies that turn our attention towards the elusive, and perhaps even the metaphysical. She skilfully builds a rapport with the audience, seeking common ground: whatever in the heroine’s experience can become such ground. Yet she does not do that at the cost of sidestepping difficult and painful subjects.

The production is based on an applauded essay by Katarzyna Sobczuk, who wove her literary narrative from close observation of her own life, as well as the lives of her friends and her elderly parents. Her text shows that old age is not a land to which fate suddenly banishes us. It is a process of becoming different from who we have been: of changing tastes and habits, and of a shifting web of relationships in which we live. The production is directed by Anna Ilczuk, an actor well known to audiences from the productions of Krystian Lupa and Anna Smolar, among others. As a director, Ilczuk demonstrates a gift for building intensity within the intimate situation that unfolds between the actress and the audience.

Text by: Katarzyna Sobczuk
Adapted and directed by: Anna Ilczuk
Music: Maciej Zakrzewski, Kontrabas (Live Double Bass): Radosław Łukaszewicz
Set and Costume Design: Mateusz Stępniak
Choreographic Consultant: Wojciech Grudziński
Lighting and Video Design: Artur Sienicki
Production Manager: Ewa Grzebyk
Stage Manager: Zuzanna Prusińska
Cast: Ewelina Żak 
Produced by: STUDIO teatrgaleria in Warsaw
Premiere: March 2025 

Heaven. Or rather, the gates of heaven, the antechamber, the waiting room. A priest and two nuns, who have died in an accident, arrive here in a lift. In the waiting room, they are greeted by Michael, the archangel. It turns out that, apart from them, no one else from the travelling party is allowed in. The priest and the nuns are shocked and try to resolve the misunderstanding. However, the situation is not straightforward. For in this Heaven, nothing is perfect or particularly logical. The question of who deserves punishment and who deserves a reward – and whether this dichotomy makes any sense at all – becomes the main subject of discussion here (and the central theme of this play).

‘And Today You’ll Be With Me In…’ is a new religious farce by the author and director Mateusz Pakuła, very well known to Krakow audiences. It is a seemingly ‘sweet fantasy’, in which sharp wit and musical energy are combined with a profound reflection on our religiosity.

Four friends and someone who is only here for a while. Fun, old age and big dreams.

The characters in the play are close to each other. They spend time together, discuss life, support each other, know about each other's weaknesses, witness each other's new infatuations as well as illnesses and ageing. They free themselves from the expectations imposed on them and start anew on their own terms.

The play is based on the stories of several older people interviewed by the script's creators. The themes that emerged from these conversations included the idea of freedom regained in adulthood – the absence of commitments towards their family and career, the feeling that ‘you no longer have to prove anything to anyone’ – as well as freedom defined as independence, which has to be fought for in order not to lose it. This ambiguous situation that comes with old age leads to new loves, decisions to relocate, the desire to pursue your dreams, to reclaim your physical well-being, or the need to make a film about the political situation in the world.

The performance shows that sometimes it's not too late to implement even the craziest plans, though it may prove difficult.