The 2020/2021 season in Powszechny Theatre: a recapitulation. We return in August!
From classical “Family” by Antoni Słonimski to a lot of laughter in “A Good Change” by Jakub Przebindowski to experimental and ironic view of show-business world according to Michał Walczak. In the 2020/2021 season Powszechny Theatre in Łódź – Polish Comedy Centre invited its spectators to different comedies. We also presented two spectacles in the original project of Ewa Pilawska – “Child in a situation”. But of course it is not all what we did this last season.
We would like to thank all our spectators – your presence and your positive signals gave us a lot of strength and motivation. Now we are going to have a short leave but we will be back in August!
A few numbers
Since September 2020 till 4 July 2021 we played more than 260 spectacles (live and online). Our total audience (live, online, television and radio) amounted to more than 1.7 million people.
Previews
Last season we presented the following previews:
- “Johnny, King of Moving” (“Danny, King of the Basement”) by David S. Craig; it was directed on a voluntary basis by Ewa Pilawska and Andrzej Jakubas prepared the workshops for the play (spectacle in the “Child in a situation” project);
- “Family” by Antoni Słonimski, directed by Wojciech Malajkat. It was premiered online and there was a special preview presentation on TV TOYA;
- „#Tagged” by Dave Deveau; it was directed on a voluntary basis by Ewa Pilawska. The play was broadcast live from our Small Stage by Radio Łódź and later it was presented online in the “Child in a situation” project (prepared by Andrzej Jakubas);
- “A Good Change” – written and directed by Jakub Przebindowski. It premiered in Manufaktura Shopping Mall and we played it four times there. They were the first spectacles for the audience in Łódź after a long theatrical lock down;
- “Dancing with the stars” – written and directed by Michał Walczak.
- Internet miniseries “The Maid Advises”
In the 2020/2021 season we continued “The Maid Advises” – the first internet theatrical miniseries in Poland. Since September 2020 we presented 8 episodes of the first season and in February 2021 we started emission of the second season. Altogether there were 23 episodes presented in our YouTube channel and on TV TOYA – the series media patron.
Education and workshops
In the 2020/2021 season we organized 80 workshops and education classes – most of them in the “Child in an online situation” project. The online version of the project was a reaction to the pandemic. Most of the schoolyear the schools worked online and the theatres could not play live. In the “Child in an online situation” project spectators from all over the country watched the show on the internet and then took part in live workshops on the net. Tickets were for symbolic 20 groszy (cents). Amcor has been the spectacle sponsor and the strategic partner of the project.
Stars of Barbara Połomska and Michał Szewczyk
On 1 October, 2020, two outstanding Powszechny Theatre actors – Barbara Połomska and Michał Szewczyk – were awarded their stars in the Łodź Walk of Fame (Piotrkowska Street). The ceremony was part of the Powszechny Theatre 75. anniversary celebration that was held in 2020. Barbara Połomska and Michał Szewczyk formed an important chapter in the history of Polish film and theatre. She was called “the Polish Brigitte Bardot” and considered to be one of the most beautiful Slavic actresses. He played in more than 100 films and in many TV Theatre spectacles. Unfortunately a few months later, on 8 February, 20921, Mr Szewczyk died. - It was a very sad day for us, it was the day when a certain era in the Powszechny Theatre history came to an end. Michał was our Master – director Ewa Pilawska said.
Projects, broadcasts, exhibitions…
Together with the Marek Edelman Dialogue Centre in Łódź we presented the online broadcast based on fragment of “In the Unlikeliest of Places: How Nachman Libeskind Survived the Nazis, Gulags, and Soviet Communism” by Annette Libeskind Berkovits.
In XX1 Gallery in Warsaw, together with the Mazovian Culture Institute, we presented an exhibition by Ewa Bloom-Kwiatkowska, consisted of works prepared specially for the 26th edition of International Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant (“Dark Fantasy”).
We took part in a special event “We remember – theatres in the 78th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising” where we presented online pieces of poetry on Holocaust.
“Night of the Museums 2021” – we co-organized this project with National Museum in Poznań, where we presented the gallery of posters of International Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant.
Theatre close to people
Last season we continued our projects within the idea of “Theatre close to people” – “Spectacles for the unemployed”, “Spectacles for the retired” and “Spectacles for students”. This season we introduced “Spectacles for the medics” with tickets for a symbolic 1 zloty. It is our words of thanks for all medics fighting with the pandemic. We also continued our “Reading theatre for people with poor eyesight and blind” project.
Medals and awards for the 75th anniversary
In 2020 we celebrated the 75th anniversary of Powszechny Theatre in Łódź. The Theatre received Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis and our actors were awarded with Golden and Bronze Medals. For the full list of the Powszechny Theatre actors and workers who received awards look here.
Awards
Our director Ewa Pilawska was nominated by “Dziennik Łódzki” for the title of “Person of 2020”. The nomination was, among others, for our online offer in difficult pandemic times and for our internet miniseries. Actors Marta Jarczewska, Jakub Kotyński and Arkadiusz Wójcik received the directors awards for the their stage characters. The director’s awards for the special commitment to work during hard pandemic times went to Anna Dolińska (literary manager) and Miłosz Słota (marketing and sales coordinator).
Theatre in pandemic
Because of pandemic and the loss of tickets incomes we had to look for other solutions to keep financial stability of the theatre. Ewa Pilawska introduced her idea of financial help for theatres during the pandemic and the times after it. Union of Polish Theatres accepted it and the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport created a special fund that helped many theatres in Poland. In June 2021 Ewa Pilawska was once again elected the vice president of the Union. Powszechny Theatre received 973.315 zloties from the ministry fund. Last season no Powszechny Theatre worker lost his/her job.
