Idea

Legnica is a town characterised by cracks. Out of the cracks our theatre builds its tale of the town. For most of its history Legnica had been a German town - but in 1945 it was taken over by the Soviet Red Army. Legnica was turned into the Army`s stronghold, a garrison town and a seat of the Soviet General Staff for the Eastern Europe. It was here, at the local airport, that the Soviet bombers were meant to have a refueling stop on their way to Paris in the case of the outbreak of World War III... As a result of 1945’s Yalta conference Legnica was given to Poland. In co-operation as well as in conflict with the Russians, the Poles began to build the identity of the town - an identity full of cracks and one never too easy to bear.

I want to talk with you about the theatre whose stage is the city - in the sense that the theatre takes over various spaces within the city - be it an old factory hall, a ruined cinema, a run-down theatre, industrial warehouses, a former market hall. The theatre locates the venues, arranges their interiors, and adapts them for the purpose of regular performing.

The pact between the theatre and the audience is based not only on the authenticity of situations presented on stage. Authenticity of another kind plays an important part in achieving the mutual understanding: our company consists of a team of actors who are not afraid of blood, sweat, and unsanitary conditions in which they sometimes perform. This realism defines, so to speak, our handwriting.

For us, the most important determinants are beauty of a venue and its natural setting. If it rains in there, it rains for real. And there is no faking in our style of acting- a performer, falling, hits a real concrete floor and rolls in dust. Different venues require different approach to acting art, to stage motion and delivery. Although we sometimes lose in our wrestling with a new theatrical space, much more often we win, just because we have learned humility towards the spaces. We do not conquer them- instead we restore them to local communities, we get the communities used to them. We managed to do it in Legnica, and in other places all over Poland. And because of our projects the local authorities sometimes show mercy to a ruin and save its life. It seems important that the theatre exceeds its traditional limits in an attempt to influence the social reality. Doubtless this is still a new field of action for theatre, a field not visited as yet- namely, theatre changing reality.


The odyssey of our theatre has been lasting for 14 years – starting in small country churches, where the local folk helped the actor playing Jesus in a passion play, starting there to reach gigantic industrial halls. This odyssey cannot be counted among the easy ones- each place en route constitutes another world, another reality. The odyssey, the one of society through a reality, is very beautiful, even though difficult. I believe that it gives us and our audiences that which is most important in life, that is faith and hope for the better world.



November 2008