Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival is an international theatre festival devoted to the idea of the Elizabethan theatre, and especially to the works of

William 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 nation ...

. The event was first organized in 1993, on the initiative of Theatrum Gedanense Foundation, which had been created by Professor Jerzy Limon and Władysław Zawistowski, with

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

as its patron. Its original name, "Gdańsk Shakespeare Days" was transformed into "Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival" in 1997, during the celebration of Gdańsk's millennium. The Festival is held annually during the first week of August. Most of the plays are performed on the theatre scenes of Gdańsk,

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest ci ...

, and

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

( Tricity). Some are shown in spaces such as st. John's Church, the former Royal Gun Factory, or

Gdańsk Shipyard The Gdańsk Shipyard ( pl, Stocznia Gdańska, formerly Lenin Shipyard) is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk. The yard gained international fame when Solidarity () was founded there in September 1980. It is situated on the w ...

and in the open air.). The Festival aims at presenting and popularizing the output of William Shakespeare by presentation of his plays, but also by other means. After the performances the public can meet with directors and actors. Within the framework of the festival an educational program for students is organized as well. It is called "Letnia Akademia Szekspirowska" (Summer Shakespeare Academy).

Golden Yorick prize

It is a prize given every year to the best Polish staging of the Shakespearean play in a theatre season. It has been awarded by the Theatrum Gedanense Foundation since 1994. Each year the prizewinning performances are invited to participate in the Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival.

Winners

*1994 – '' Love's Labour's Lost'' Polish Theatre in Warsaw, directed by Maciej Prus *1995 – '' Romeo and Juliet'' Polish Theatre in Wrocław, directed by Tadeusz Bradecki *1996 – the main prize was not awarded, distinction: '' As You Like It'' Helena Modrzejewska Theatre in Legnica, directed by Robert Czechowski *1997 – ''As You Like It'' Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw, directed by Piotr Cieślak *1998 – '' Measure for Measure'' Old Theatre in Cracow, directed by Tadeusz Bradecki *1999 – ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same yea ...

'' Helena Modrzejewska Theatre in Legnica, directed by Jacek Głomb and Krzysztof Kopka *2000 – '' The Merry Wives of Windsor'' Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw, directed by Piotr Cieplak *2001 – ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

'' Nowa Łódź Theatre, directed by Mikołaj Grabowski *2002 – '' A Midsummer Night's Dream''

National Theatre in Warsaw National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, directed by Jerzy Grzegorzewski *2003 – '' The Tempest'' TR Warszawa, directed by

Krzysztof Warlikowski Krzysztof Warlikowski (Polish pronunciation: ; born 26 May 1962) is a Polish theatre director. He is the creator and artistic director of Nowy Teatr (New Theatre) in Warsaw. Biography He studied history, philosophy and Romance languages at t ...

*2004 – '' Richard III'' Nowy Theatre in Poznań, directed by Janusz Wiśniewski *2005 – main prize: ''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. ...

'' Nowy Theatre in Łódź, directed by Maciej Prus, distinction: ''2007: Macbeth'' TR Warszawa, directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna, special prize: ''H'' Wybrzeże Theatre in Gdańsk, directed by Jan Klata *2006 – ''Romeo and Juliet'' Norwid Theatre in Jelenia Góra, directed by Krzysztof Rekowski *2007 – ''Measure for Measure'' Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw, directed by Anna Augustynowicz *2008 – ''The Tempest'' Nowy Theatre in Poznań, directed by Janusz Wiśniewski *2009 – the main prize was not awarded, First distinction: ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'' Wybrzeże Theatre, directed by Szymon Kaczmarek; Honorary distinction: ''Othello. Variations on a Theme'' Stefan Jaracz Theatre, directed by Agata Duda-Gracz in the Competition for the Best Shakespeare Production in the 2008/2009 season.

Accompanying events

Summer Shakespeare Academy consists of theatrical and creative workshops conducted by Polish artists and famous foreign personalities. The participants are encouraged to develop their passions for theatre, dance,

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. Shakespeare Daily is the newspaper that has accompanied the festival for many years. It is created and edited by the participants of

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

workshops. It contains the information about festival events,

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indi ...

s, and

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

s about plays and artists. 'Dolne Miasto Górą' (which could be translated as "Dolne Miasto is the Best") is the common name of various artistic workshops organised in Dolne Miasto and Orunia (districts of Gdańsk). It is also called "Shakespeare mania" and consists of free workshops for children and teenagers conducted by young artists from Gdańsk. The project was created by Joanna Śnieżko-Misterek, Teatrum Gedanense Foundation and Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre. The aim of the action is to make the youth conscious of their abilities and to help them develop their interests and self-esteem. The end of the workshops is always celebrated with a theatrical parade. Actors, human-shaped puppets and various artists, together with the residents of Dolne Miasto, march along

Długi Targ Długi Targ or Long Market (german: Langer Markt) in Gdańsk, Poland, is one of the most notable tourist attractions of the city. It is situated between the end of Ulica Długa (the ''Long Lane''), and the Green Gate (''Brama Zielona''). History ...

, which is the centre of the Old Town of Gdańsk. The events do not end with the festival's last day. After the festival photographic and

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

competitions are organised. Each year a competition for the best festival photograph and review is held. There is also an annual exhibition of the works of young independent artists.

Editions of the festival

13th Shakespeare Festival

13th Shakespeare Festival was held 1–10 August 2009. It was the first edition of the festival that had a theme –

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...

. Many of the festival theatre groups employed multimedia in their performances. The event was accompanied by an international conference on the phenomenon of multimedia arts in the theatre: Blending the Media. Art in the theatre/theatre in the arts. Among the guests of the conference were such

theatre studies Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychobiological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also e ...

stars as Marvin Carlson, Patrice Pavis, Bryan Reynolds, Erika Fischer-Lichte czy Eli Rozik. A lecture was given by Elizabeth LeCompte, the founding member and the

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of an

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

theater collective –

The Wooster Group The Wooster Group is a New York City-based experimental theater company known for creating numerous original dramatic works. It gradually emerged from Richard Schechner's The Performance Group (1967–1980) during the period from 1975 to 1980, an ...

. It was during this edition that festival performances could be seen outside the Tricity for the first time. This event was called Shakespeare in Pomerania Region. " A Midsummer Night's Dream" by the Globe Theatre was shown in

Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specific ...

Pruszcz Gdański Pruszcz Gdański (; former pl, Pruszcz; german: Praust) is a town in Pomerania, northern Poland with 26,834 inhabitants (2010). Pruszcz Gdański is an industrial town neighbouring Gdańsk, part of the Tricity agglomeration. The Tricity Bypass ...

, and

Kościerzyna Kościerzyna ( Kashubian and Pomeranian: ''Kòscérzëna''; formerly german: Berent, ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with some 24,000 inhabitants. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomerania ...

. Performances of the main stage: * ''

HAMLET ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

/Amleto. Nella Carne il Silenzio'' – Compagnia Laboratorio di Pontendera (Italy) * ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' and A Midsummer Night's Dream – two performances by Propeller company from

Watermill Theatre The Watermill Theatre is a repertory theatre in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill, a converted watermill on the River Lambourn. As a producing house, the theatre has produced works that have subsequently moved on to the West E ...

, Great Britain * ''Hamlet'' – The Wooster Group (USA) * ''Warum, Warum'' directed 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 ...

– Miriam Goldschmidt's monodrama * ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' – Globe Theatre (Great Britain) * ''The Merchant of Venice'' – Bremer Shakespeare Company (Germany) * ''The Taming of the Shrew'' – The Wybrzeże Theatre (Poland), First distinction in the Golden Yorick competition * ''King Richard III'' – co-production of two theatres: The Hungarian Theatre of Cluj (

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

) and The Gyulai Castle Theatre (Hungary) * ''Othello. Variations on a theme'' – The Stefan Jaracz Theatre, Łódź (Poland), Honorary distinction in the Golden Yorick Competition * ''Hamlet'' – The Radu Stanca National Theatre in Sibiu (Romania) As a part of Shakespeare Miniature Scenes were shown: * "O, that this too too solid flesh..." – performance by the students of

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (formerly the City ...

, based on several William Shakespeare's plays (''Hamlet'', ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''

Much Ado about Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'', ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''As You Like It'') * "Hamlet, or the End of Childhood" – The Naxos Theatre Group (France) * "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by students of the Warsaw Theatrical Academy, the performance based on Shakespeare's play and the music of Philip Glass and

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

* " The Tempest" by The Parrabbola Group in collaboration with Lightwork Theatre company (

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

)
Klub Zak Theatre
The cast included Brett Brown as

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

Bryony Hannah Bryony Hannah (born 1984) is a British actress, best known as Cynthia Miller in BBC One's '' Call the Midwife''. Personal life The daughter of a teacher and a retired Royal Navy lieutenant-commander, Hannah comes from Portsmouth, and after leavi ...

as Miranda and Scott Handy as

Prospero Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to se ...

12th Shakespeare Festival

12th Shakespeare Festival was held 2–9 August 2008. Among the many performances of the year, the festival included a variety of workshops and lectures by distinguished theatre practitioners. Caleb Marshall ( Shakespeare Globe Theatre, Great Britain) gave an acting workshop on Romeo and Juliet, Yoshihiro Kurita ( Ryutopia Theatre, USA) and Jarosław Bielski ( Replika Theatre, Spain) gave acting workshops on

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

, and Bryan Reynolds and Chris Marshall ( Transversal Theatre, USA) gave a workshop on transversal acting methodology. Ińaki Arana ( Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramatico, Spain) gave an artistic swordplay workshop, and Bare Feet (Zambia) and the Other Side of the Mirror Theatre (Gdańsk) gave African dance and drumming workshops. Also, Lonnie Alcaraz (Transversal Theatre, USA) gave a workshop for lighting directors and

Michael Hooker Michael Kenneth Hooker (August 24, 1945 – June 29, 1999) was an American academic who served as the eighth Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and President of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Bennington ...

(Transversal Theatre, USA) gave a workshop for sound directors. Performances of the main stage: * '' Macbeth'' – ARKA theatre, Wrocław * ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some crit ...

'' – Ryutopia Theatre, Japan * ''Hamlet'' – Polski Theatre, Wrocław * ''SHAKESPEARE SOLO'' – Ophelia – State Youth Theatre, Armenia * ''Richard after Richard'' – Theatre in the Basket, Ukraine * '' Hamletmachine'' – Odeon Theatre, Romania * ''Hamlet'' – Réplika Theatre, Spain * ''Romeo and Juliet'' –

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

, UK * '' Measure for Measure'' – National Theatre, Craiova, Romania * '' The Tempest'' – Nowy Theatre, Poznań * ''Lumping in Fargo'' –

Transversal Theater Company The Transversal Theater Company (TTC) is a nonprofit organization of American and European artists based in Amsterdam. Founded in 2003 by Bryan Reynolds, Lonnie Alcaraz, Douglas-Scott Goheen, and a number of other artists, TTC is an experimental t ...

, Netherlands

References

External links

Gdańsk Shakespeare FestivalGdańsk Shakespeare TheatreTheatrum Gedanense Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gdansk Shakespeare Festival Theatre festivals in Poland Shakespeare festivals Culture in Gdańsk Summer events in Poland