The Ester Rachel and Ida Kaminska Jewish Theater ( pl, Teatr Żydowski im. Estery Racheli i Idy Kamińskich) is a state

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

institution in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, the capital city of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It was named after the

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

actress Ester Rachel Kamińska, who was called the "mother of Yiddish theater," and her daughter, the Academy Award-nominated actress

Ida Kaminska Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy *Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing * Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...

. Ida Kamińska directed the theater and acted in its productions from the time of its founding until 1968.Leyko, Małgorzata (2010, October 11).
Polish State Yiddish Theater
" Translated by Michael C. Steinlauf. ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. Retrieved 2015-06-20. The State Jewish Theater was formed in 1950 from two theater troupes which performed in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

and

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

in 1945–50. The theatre worked in both cities over the next few years and gave guest performances across Poland. In 1955 it moved to Warsaw permanently. Since 1970 it has performed in its own building on Grzybowski Square. Since its inception, the theater has sought to continue the rich traditions of prewar Jewish theatrical stages in Poland. Plays at the theater are shown in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and Yiddish (headphones with Polish translation are available). The theater cultivates the creativity of great Jewish drama. Its repertoire features the best works by

Abraham Goldfaden Abraham Goldfaden (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם גאָלדפֿאַדען; born Avrum Goldnfoden; 24 July 1840 – 9 January 1908), also known as Avram Goldfaden, was a Russian-born Jewish poet, playwright, stage director and actor in the languages Yid ...

Mendele-Moykher Sforim Mendele Mocher Sforim ( yi, , he, מנדלי מוכר ספרים, also known as Moykher, Sfarim; lit. "Mendele the book peddler"; January 2, 1836, Kapyl – December 8, 1917 .S. Odessa), born Sholem Yankev Abramovich ( yi, , russian: Сол ...

Sholom Aleichem ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Pereiaslav, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = New York City, U.S. , occupation = Writer , nationality = , period = , genre = Novels, sh ...

Isaac Leib Peretz Isaac Leib Peretz ( pl, Icchok Lejbusz Perec, yi, יצחק־לייבוש פרץ) (May 18, 1852 – April 3, 1915), also sometimes written Yitskhok Leybush Peretz was a Polish Jewish writer and playwright writing in Yiddish. Payson R. Stevens, Cha ...

and

Jacob Gordin Jacob Michailovitch Gordin (Yiddish: יעקב מיכאַילאָװיטש גאָרדין; May 1, 1853 – June 11, 1909) was a Russian-born American playwright active in the early years of Yiddish theater. He is known for introducing realism and ...

. The president of the theatre was, in the years 1970 to 2014, an actor

Szymon Szurmiej Szymon Symcha Szurmiej (18 June 1923 − 16 July 2014) was a Polish actor, director, and general manager of the Ester Rachel Kamińska and Ida Kamińska State Jewish Theater in Warsaw. He was a director of the Yiddish Theater of Warsaw. Since Jul ...

References

External links

Official website of the Jewish State Theatre in Warsaw (in Polish)

Jewish Theatre in Poland: Fragments of an Illustrious History
Jews and Judaism in Warsaw Theatres in Warsaw Yiddish culture in Poland Yiddish theatre Theatres completed in 1950 1950 establishments in Poland {{Europe-theat-struct-stub