75th anniversary of Powszechny Theatre in Łódź and 25 medals for its workers
In 1945 Powszechny Theatre opened in Legionów (former the Stalingrad Defenders) Street in Łódź. For 75 years we have been playing for our audience and we have been feeling a special bond between us and our spectators. This jubilee is also your holiday! Thank you for those 75 years!
-Think of the future but do not forget the past. Many thanks to those who created our Theatre, to our audience and our friends – says Ewa Pilawska, the Powszechny Theatre director. Ms Pilawska applied to Tobiasz Bocheński, head of the province administration for medals for the theatre workers. Mr Bocheński was in favour of the application and the medals were granted by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. There were medals not only for the actors but also for people who do not give applause – model-maker, sound and light technicians, dresser, people responsible for PR and ticket sale.
Due to the virus situation there can be no official party where the medals could be handed. That is why we invite you to watch a short video with the presentation of all those who were awarded with medals. And we invite you for our December preview – “Family” by Antoni Słonimski, directed by Wojciech Malajkat.
Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis for Powszechny Theatre in Łódź
Powszechny Theatre in Łódź came into being in 1945. Its artistic face was shaped by its directors: Karol Adwentowicz, Jadwiga Chojnacka, Roman Sykała, Roman Kłosowski, Mirosław Szonert, Bohdan Cybulski and Maciej Korwin. Ewa Pilawska has been the director since 1995. It is her idea to create theatre close to people – she introduced original ideas Polish Comedy Centre and the Comedywriting competition and International Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant. In 2012 we inaugurated our Small Stage. Powszechny Theatre is one of the most popular theatres in Poland – in 2019 we gave 409 performances for 130,000 spectators.
The following Powszechny Theatre actors were decorated with Gold Medals for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis:
- Barbara Połomska who made her debut in Powszechny Theatre in 1957 as Eliza in G.B.Shaw’s “Pygmalion”. Since then she has played in hundreds of spectacles. In September 2020 she was awarded with her star in the Łódź Walk of Fame (Piotrkowska Street).
- Michał Szewczyk has been with us since 1958. He too was awarded with his star in the Łódź Walk of Fame in September 2020.
The following Powszechny Theatre actors were decorated with Bronze Medals for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (in alphabetical order):
- Andrzej Jakubas who is with us since 1991
- Barbara Lauks – in Powszechny Theatre since 1991
- Piotr Lauks who is in our theatre since 1991
- Artur Majewski – in Powszechny Theatre since 1985
- Jan Wojciech Poradowski – the Powszechny Theatre actor since 1983
- Ewa Sonnenburg who is with us since 1982
- Barbara Szcześniak – in our theatre for 45 years
The following members of the artistic team were decorated with Honorary Badges of Merit for Polish Culture (in alphabetical order):
- Anna Maria Dolińska – the Powszechny Theatre literary manager
- Karolina Łukaszewicz – the Powszechny Theatre actress since 1997
- Alina Trybiło-Falana – stage manager and prompter in 1987 – 2016 (now retired)
- Małgorzata Urzędowska – 23 years in Powszechny Theatre as a stage manager and prompter
- Arkadiusz Wójcik – the Powszechny Theatre actor since 2010
- Magda Zając – the actress connected with us since 2001
- Artur Zawadzki – our theatre actor since 2005
- Beata Ziejka – the actress of Powszechny Theatre since 2006.
The following members of administrative and technical teams were decorated with Honorary Badges of Merit for Polish Culture (in alphabetical order):
- Krzysztof Drozdowski – model-maker
- Edward Kołtek – technical manager
- Andrzej Kowalski – deputy technical manager
- Małgorzata Myszkowska – sales and ticket department manager
- Andrzej Otomański – acoustician
- Andrzej Rybicki – set design technician
- Miłosz Słota – marketing and sales coordinator
Awards given by the Powszechny Theatre director (in alphabetical order):
- Piotr Dygas – light engineer
- Tamara Fligiel – dresses/props mistress
- Jakub Kotyński – the Powszechny Theatre actor since 2012
- Beata Kruszyńska – head of general department