The New Theatre in Łódź also known as the Kazimierz Dejmek New Theatre (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

: ''Teatr Nowy w Łodzi'' or ''Teatr Nowy im. Kazimierza Dejmka w Łodzi'') is one of the repertory theatres in

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 cant ...

(Poland), established in 1949. The theatre presents a varied programme, including international classic drama, and new plays by contemporary playwrights. In addition to performances at the Nowy Theatre building, the Nowy Theatre tours productions at theatres across the Łódź region, Poland and abroad.

History

In 1949, the Young Actors' Group (Polish: ''Grupa Młodych Aktorów''), with

Kazimierz Dejmek Kazimierz Dejmek (17 May 1924 – 31 December 2002) was a Polish actor, theatre and film director, and politician. During his career he managed the New Theatre in Łódź (since 2008 named after him), the National Theatre, Warsaw, and the Teatr ...

as one of their leaders, organized a series of workshops during which those assembled worked on learning the Stanislavski's system. It was this group that went on to create the New Theatre. The theatre was initially collectively managed and in November of 1949 presented its first jointly directed premiere, a production of a Czech repertory play by Vašek Káňa titled '' Grinder Karhan's Work Brigade'' (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

: ''Parta brusiče Karhana''). At this time, beginning with the January 1949 convention of the

Polish Writers' Union The Polish Writers' Union or the Union of Polish Writers ( pl, Związek Literatów Polskich, ZLP) was established at a meeting of Polish writers and activists in Lublin behind the Soviet front line, during the liberation of Poland by the Red Arm ...

held in the city of Szczecin,

Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is c ...

became the governing aesthetic doctrine. In 1950

assumed the position of intendat and artistic director of the institution and abandoned acting as a profession. He remained the theatre's director until 1962. Later he held that position between 1974 and 1979, as well as in 2002. In 2008 the New Theatre was named after him, but the full title is rarely used. In February 1950, communist President

Bolesław Bierut Bolesław Bierut (; 18 April 1892 – 12 March 1956) was a Polish communist activist and politician, leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1947 until 1956. He was President of the State National Council from 1944 to 1947, President of Po ...

awarded the theatre with the Order of the Banner of Work. In November 2019,

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego) is a governmental administration office concerned with various aspects of Polish culture. It was formed on 31 October 20 ...

awarded the Nowy Theatre with the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.{{Cite web, last=Pawłowski, first=Dariusz, date=2019-11-19, title=Medale i gratulacje w Teatrze Nowym im. Kazimierza Dejmka w Łodzi, url=https://dzienniklodzki.pl/medale-i-gratulacje-w-teatrze-nowym-im-kazimierza-dejmka-w-lodzi/ar/c13-14589401, access-date=2020-06-14, website=Dziennik Łódzki, language=pl-PL

References

Theatres in Łódź Theatre companies in Poland Recipients of the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis 1949 establishments in Poland Theatres completed in 1949