Wałbrzych Theater
The Wałbrzych Theater ( Polish Teatr Dramatyczny im. Jerzego Szaniawskiego w Wałbrzychu ; Dramatic Theater "Jerzy Szaniawski" in Wałbrzych ) is the municipal theater of the Lower Silesian town of Wałbrzych ( Waldenburg ).
The theater is named after the Polish playwright Jerzy Szaniawski (1886–1970). The theater's artistic focus is on world premieres by contemporary Polish playwrights. In recent times the theater has gained national importance in Poland with a particularly progressive style and as a springboard for young theater professionals.
history
The history of the theater can be divided into the periods up to 2002 and after. Wałbrzych is a town whose population was largely changed after the end of the Second World War due to the expulsion of Germans and the resettlement of Poles, and which was largely "depopulated" in the first post-war years. In this city the theater was the most important cultural institution in an environment very poor in terms of entertainment. Until 2002 the theater performed this entertaining function in a more or less traditional way. The success of the artistic direction was measured primarily by the number of spectators, which were extremely high compared to today's conditions.
From 2002 the Wałbrzych stage transformed into one of the most progressive and influential stages in Poland. Although the repertoire reacted much more strongly than before to the social environment, namely a city hard hit by the decline of the mining industry and social change, the treatment of these explosive topics met with rejection from parts of the Wałbrzych audience, while at the same time the interest and recognition of the supraregional Audience and theater criticism increased sharply.
The early years 1957–1960
The theater building was originally the “Herberge zur Heimat” hotel before it was converted into a hospital for returned prisoners of war at the end of the First World War. After the Second World War, the building was initially used as a Jewish cultural center before being converted into a venue for the Lower Silesia State Theater in 1956. From September 1, 1964, the theater became an independent institution as the “Dramatic State Theater”.
1957-1960: Jan Orszy
The first years 1957–1960 under the direction of the artistic director Jan Orszy were marked by rivalries between the venues in Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra , which together formed the “Lower Silesian State Dramatic Theater”. At that time, the theater offered a wide range of repertoires without a clear artistic focus.
1964–1967: Bronislaw Orlicz
Bronislaw Orlicz began his tenure with a performance of “Zemsta” by Aleksander Fredra and then followed the classical canon without undertaking any major experiments with the repertoire.
1967-1970: Celestyn Skołuda
Under Skołuda a mixture of great dramas and seldom performed "found objects" was performed. A mixture that neither the Wałbrzych public nor the critics could convince.
1970: Adolf Chronicki
Adolf Chronicki placed the improvement of the artistic possibilities of the ensemble at the center of his work, but at the beginning of his tenure he overwhelmed it with a very ambitious repertoire. As a result, the repertoire was simplified. In addition to normal theater operations, educational events were also offered, e.g. B. a series of popular science events on Russian drama. Overall, however, the offer did not meet the expectations of the audience, so that the theater had to struggle with falling audience numbers.
1975–1976: Alexander Strokowski
Strokowski established a political theater in Wałbrzych, interpreting the classics as a “universal key” to contemporary issues.
1977–1981: Andrzej Maria Marczewski
With Marczewski, a young, ambitious director took over the artistic direction of the theater, who for the first time placed the focus of the repertoire on contemporary pieces. He realized his own “handwriting” which was characterized by an aggressive style of directing that critics called “expressionist”.
1981-1982: Maciej Dzienisiewicz
Dzienisiewicz moved away from the director's theater and wanted to put the actor at the center of the theater. The main focus of the repertoire was on comedies.
1982–1989: Waldemar Stasicki
However, Stasicki preferred modern theater with a less avant-garde approach than Marczewski. Towards the end of his tenure, the theater suffered from a very tight budget. In addition, the building urgently had to be renovated and was therefore not playable for some time, so that the company went on tour for a year and a half.
1989-2000: Wlodzimierz ( Wowo ) Bielicki
Even under Bielicki , the budget difficulties continued. Bielicki reigned by turning his attention to adapting the repertoire for a wide audience. With a "lighter", very varied repertoire and a lot of premieres, the income should be increased.
2000-2002: Krzysztof Kopka
Under the leadership of Kopka, the Wałbrzych Theater began an intensive collaboration with the Legnica Theater , which was considered one of the best theaters in Poland. The theater and the ensemble benefited greatly from this collaboration.
2002–2008: Piotr Kruszczyński
The tenure of Piotr Kruszczyński marked a turning point for the theater in Wałbrzych. The director had made it his business to revitalize the theater from the start, and after 40 years of existence the house was actually experiencing a renaissance. Under the direction of Kruszczynski and the managing director Danuta Marosz, who also took office in 2002, the theater became a place for a courageous dialogue with the audience about the reality of life in Wałbrzych and made these circumstances the subject of the production. The focus of interest was on "the modern Pole", his living conditions of the "modern Poles" and his reaction to social changes.
During this time, a large number of young artists made their debut in Wałbrzych, who later shaped the theater scene in Poland (Maja Kleczewska, Karina Piwowarska, Jan Klata, Artur Tyszkiewicz, Arkadiusz Tworus, Michał Walczak). For the first time, premieres took place in Wałbrzych. At the same time, the theater's presence at festivals was intensified. The consistent focus on new plays and current topics not only led to an intensive dialogue with the audience, but also to an enormous response from theater criticism. Piotr Kruszczynski developed the Wałbrzych Theater into one of the most important stages in Poland, even if the domestic audience was quite skeptical of the radical reorientation.
2008-2013: Sebastian Majewski
Sebastian Majewski took up the post of artistic director in 2008. Majewski had previously worked intensively with Jan Klata and continued to work with young writers and directors. Formative artists during his tenure were Natalia Korczakowska (director), Krzysztof Garbaczewski (director) and also Monika Strzepka and Pawel Demirski (writers / directors). Majewski established a radically progressive theater in Wałbrzych. Among other things, the cycles “We know! We know! ”And the continuation“ We know! We know about the square! "With adaptations of famous movies as well as" We like that! We like that! ”About trivial genres. The program also included educational offers for young theater viewers such as readings, dialogues with theater professionals and a weekly “ambitious film on Thursday” followed by a discussion.
Since 2013: Piotr Ratajczak
Piotr Ratajczak has been artistic director of the Wałbrzych Theater since the 2013/14 season.
Initiatives
- The youth group Theaterschatten runs theater workshops and publishes the newspaper Nieregularnik Teatralny (about Theatrical Irregularity ).
- Song recitals are offered under the title Musical Foyer .
- Once a year since 2003, a festival has been held under the title Wałbrzyskie Fanaberie Teatralne ( Wałbrzycher Theaterflausen ), which presents a cross-section of the current Polish theater scene to the audience.
- The dramaturgy days offer a forum for young theater artists from Poland and Europe to present their productions and plays.
- The five-day re-presentation gives the audience the opportunity to watch all productions of a season within a week.
swell
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 3.2 ″ N , 16 ° 16 ′ 28.1 ″ E