The Ludowy Theatre (''literally: People's Theatre'', pl, Teatr Ludowy) in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, located at ''Osiedle Teatralne'' housing development in district

Nowa Huta Nowa Huta (, literally "The New Steel Mill") is the easternmost district of Kraków, Poland. With more than 200,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous areas of the city. Until 1990, the neighbouring districts were considered expansions o ...

, opened on 3 December 1955. At that time in the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

, the official policy of

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 ...

in art and social life came to an end and de-Stalinization was taking place, heading for its culmination in the events of

Polish October Polish October (), also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the politics of Poland in the second half of 1956. Some social scientists term it the Polish October Revolution, which was less dramatic than the ...

. The Ludowy quickly became known as the city's prime

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

stage thanks to collaboration of eminent artists, including the theatre theoretician and painter Józef Szajna,John Elsom
"Master of the Apocalyptic Stage"
World and I, Arts section

Tadeusz Kantor Tadeusz Kantor (6 April 1915 – 8 December 1990) was a Polish painter, assemblage and Happenings artist, set designer and theatre director. Kantor is renowned for his revolutionary theatrical performances in Poland and abroad. Laureate of ...

(both from the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

Lidia Zamkow Lidia Zamkow (1918–1982) was a Polish theatre actress and director. Biography Lidia Zamkow was born on 19 June or 15 July (sources vary), 1918 in Rostov-on-Don. Until 1939 she was studying at the National Institute of Theatre Arts in Warsaw ...

Krystyna Zachwatowicz Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda (born Krystyna Zachwatowicz; 16 May 1930) is a Polish scenographer, costume designer and actress. She is a daughter of architect and restorer Jan Zachwatowicz and Maria Chodźko ''h.'' Kościesza, and wife of film d ...

, and others.Monika Mokrzycka-Pokora
The People's Theatre in Nowa Huta
pl
Teatr Ludowy w Nowej Hucie
} November 2003, Adam Mickiewicz Institute

History

Teatr Ludowy, designed by architects Edmund Dąbrowski and Janusz Ingarden, was built in 1954–1955, with the cubic volume of 14,000 m³ and seating for 420. It was placed in the centre of a socialist housing urban project for social and ideological reasons, to spread high culture among the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

population established during the past few years in the surrounding

industrial district and as a possible vehicle for workers' indoctrination. However, thanks to the revolutionary vision of its first president, Krystyna Skuszanka, Teatr Ludowy became one of the most interesting theatres in the country, with Jerzy Krasowski as its first resident director and painter Jozef Szajna as its visionary set designer. Together, they turned the young local venue into an innovative and politically engaging stage with serious intellectual and artistic ambitions. Szajna, a survivor of

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

camps in Auschwitz and

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...

, was the theatre's artistic director in 1963-1966. In his popular productions of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and

Greek tragedies Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...

, he evoked his own camp experiences; it was called a theater of death by

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...

. The name Teatr Ludowy ('The People's Theatre') had a unique tradition in Kraków, in spite of its ostensibly state socialist, leftist or

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

connotations. In 1902 (during the Partitions of Poland), another Ludowy Theatre was opened in Kraków by the renowned actor Stefan Jaracz, who performed there. It was situated at Krowoderska Street.

Repertoire

During the decades of

communist rule A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

, the Polish theatre employed the artistic techniques of political allusion and

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

, in order to overcome

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

. Theatre was not created from the text alone, but from what often remained unspoken and only visually significant. At the Ludowy, plays by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

, Carlo Gozzi and

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) * Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

were staged. Krystyna Skuszanka prepared successful Shakespeare productions: '' Measure for Measure'' with stage design by Tadeusz Kantor (1956), '' The Tempest'' (1959), and the ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'' (1961) with set design by Józef Szajna. She also staged Polish Romantic drama, such as

Juliusz Słowacki Juliusz Słowacki (; french: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the " Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of m ...

's ''Balladyna'' (1956) and ''Sen srebrny Salomei'' ('Silver Dream of Salome', 1959). In 1962, Skuszanka and Jerzy Krasowski prepared a production of

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

's ''

Dziady Dziady ( Belarusian: , Russian: , Ukrainian: , pl, Dziady; lit. "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, ritual ...

'' with stage design by Szajna. The realities of life under

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

inspired broader philosophical and ideological questions. Notable plays of the time included productions by Krasowski, such as the adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

'' (1956) with

Franciszek Pieczka Franciszek Maksymilian Pieczka (18 January 1928 – 23 September 2022) was a Polish actor. A graduate of the National Higher School of Theatre in Warsaw (1954), he first made his debut in the theatre in Jelenia Góra. He won the award for Best ...

(as Lenny Small) and

Witold Pyrkosz Witold Pyrkosz (24 December 1926 – 22 April 2017) was a Polish actor. He was best known as Lucjan Mostowiak in Polish TV series " M jak miłość", as Pyzdra in " Janosik", as Wichura in "Czterej pancerni i pies", as Balcerek in "Alternaty ...

(as George Milton). There was

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian- Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''The For ...

's ''Jacobowsky and the Colonel'' staged in 1957 and Jerzy Broszkiewicz's ''Imiona władzy'' ('The Names of Power') directed by Skuszanka (1957), about the issues of freedom.

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

's '' The State of Siege'' was staged in 1958. The novel by Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski, ''Radość z odzyskanego śmietnika'' ('The Joy of the Repossessed Dumpsite'), premiered in 1960. As the political climate began to worsen, the theatre was faced with increasing criticism. The directors were accused of ignoring audiences of lower educational status. Skuszanka and Krasowski left the Ludowy in 1963, unable to carry on with their ambitious repertoire. Szajna, who remained, was often sharply criticized. His productions included Nikolai Gogol's '' The Inspector General'' (1963), Tadeusz Hołuj's ''Puste pole'' ('The Empty Field', 1965), Witold Wandurski's ''Śmierć na gruszy'' ('Death on a Pear-tree', 1965), and

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

's '' The Castle'' with memorable roles by Irena Jun and Józef Wieczorek (1966). The audiences directed to attend performances through official channels, such as employee crews of state-run enterprises or public school students, stopped coming. Szajna left in 1966. In the 1970s, the theatre remained unable to find a formula that would satisfy both the authorities and the critics. Comedies were staged. Consecutive directors tried to revive the tradition of Polish national and folk theatre. An artistic revival came with the

fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...

in central-eastern Europe. In democratic Poland the Ludowy was taken over by an actor, director, and politician

Jerzy Fedorowicz Jerzy Feliks Fedorowicz (born 29 October 1947 in Polanica Zdrój) is a Polish actor, theatre director, poet, politician, a former member of the Sejm (2005–2009), and member of the Senate (2015–). After graduating from the Academy for the Dr ...

(1989–2012).Jerzy Fedorowicz, biography
at ''Magiczny Krakow'' Under his management, the theatre won considerable recognition and numerous awards. It was twice invited to the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

: in 1996 with '' Macbeth'' directed by Jerzy Stuhr and in 1997 with ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...

'' directed by Włodzimierz Nurkowski. Jacek Strama led the Ludowy Theatre from 2012 to 2016, and Małgorzata Bogajewska is the current director.

References

*
50 lat Teatru Ludowego
Głos ''Tygodnik Nowohucki'' *

at ''City map''
The Ludowy Theatre
at ''Magiczny Krakow'', the City's official website, 2009 {{Coord, 50.0803187, N, 20.0337088, E, source:plwiki_region:PL, format=dms, display=title Theatres completed in 1955 1955 establishments in Poland Theatres in Kraków