2023 in Powszechny Theatre in Łódź
We always think about things that are ahead of us: new presentations, Festival, meetings, we look for artistic challenges, inspirations, we are ready to go on… But before we start with New Year’s energy, let us have a while to look back at 2023, to enjoy our successes. And there were a lot of things we could enjoy, we could be proud of. In 2023 there was a whole constellation of good events, we would like to remind you at least a few of them…
This was a year of festival yourneys and distinctions.It started with the award for the best spectacle of the 16.edition of the Katowice Comedy Carnival where our spectacle „I Wanted To Be” directed by Michał Siegoczyński simply gripped the audience. Some time later the audience of the 63. edition of Festival of Acting – Kaliskie Spotkania Teatralne (Theatrical Meetings in Kalisz) voted Mariusz Ostrowski (in the role of Krzysztof Krawczyk) the best actor. The „I Wanted To Be” tour lasted longer, at the season beginning we met the Poznań audience of „Theatre Time” festival. At the moment we are working on the February presentation of „Who Wants To Be a Jew” by Marek Modzelewski directed by Jacek Braciak with which we are going to the Katowice Comedy Carnival…
2023 was an exceptional year for Łódź and for us. We celebrated the 600 hundredth anniversary of the city. We played spectacles for thousands of the city inhabitants and the tickets were for a symbolic 1 zloty or for symbolic 600 groszy (cents). For the whole July we had special, holiday-birthday ticket prices. A few hundred meters’ queues made history just as our mutual joy of being together. We thank Mayor Hanna Zdanowska for the 600 hundredth anniversary medals she awarded us in the Museum of the History of Łódź.
2023 was the year of the city’s revitalization, and Legionów Street was an example of it. It was not easy to get to the theatre, it was not easy to park a car somewhere around but we all realize that first it has to be hard to be much better in future. Legionów Street will soon be one of the most beautiful streets in Łódź! And the roadworks showed that our viewers are incredible. Despite all difficulties in 2023 we broke the attendance record. You did not give up, you came to us and therefore you gave us an enormous strength. Thank you for that, you are our 2023 heroes!
In 2023 we played 400 spectacles, there were more than 100 workshops and theatrical lessons. We had almost 140,000 viewers. Revenues on tickets’ sale as well as financial means from our sponsors and donations amounted to more than 5,300,000 zloties (the theatre’s subsidy for 2023 amounted to 6,687,463 zloties).
2023 was the year of first presentations. That year we premiered „For All Life” by Paolo Costella directed by Wojciech Malajkat, „Replay” by Flavia Coste directed by Magdalena Małecka-Wippich, „Arena” by Dave Deveau directed (on a voluntary basis) by Ewa Pilawska, „Appearances” by Marc Camoletti directed by Jakub Przebindowski, „Tutoring In Love” directed by Sławomir Narloch and the 72th presentation of „The Reading theatre for the blind and partially sighted persons” project. We announced the results of the 7th edition of Comedywriting – the winner of the all-Poland competition for writing a modern Polish comedy was Paweł Mossakowski. We are to start stage work of his comedy „Green Glade” soon.
March and April were the months of the 29th edition of International Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant. As usual, it opened the festival season of the calendar year and it presented crème de la crème of Polish theatre. It was the first Polish festival to present famous spectacle „1989” directed by Katarzyna Szyngiera, „My Way” by Krystyna Janda, „Ulysses” by James Joyce directed by Maja Kleczewska, „Salomea’s Silver Dream” by Juliusz Słowacki directed by Piotr Cieplak, „Noises Off” by Michael Frayn directed by Jan Klata and „Spartacus. Love in the Time of Plague” directed by Jakub Skrzywanek. It was the true theatre celebration. It started with long queues after the repertoire of the festival went public. Tickets sold out immediately, theatre fans were happy even if they got only standing tickets. The emotions went so high that during one of the spectacles some plaster fall of one of the walls…
We are grateful for all awards and distinctions, among others Plaster Kultury for „Imagine” by Krystian Lupa (our co-production with Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw) as the Spectacle of 2022, Award of the Mayor of Łódź, Hanna Zdanowska, for Barbara Lauks and the award forEwa Pilawska for taking the first place in the 2023 edition of Community Idol competition given by Chance for the Blind Foundation.
We are happy and proud of the successes in 2023 and now we are ready to begin 2024. Thank you for being with us. We wish you all the best in 2024. And see you in our Theatre!
