„The Kielce Protest” at the 32nd Festival

How to buy low and sell high? What does flipping have in common with Kielce and the city’s post-war history? On Tuesday, 21 April 2026 we presented for the first time „The Kielce Protest. Who Does Kielce Belong To?” – the spectacle directed by Jakub Skrzywanek and produced by The Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Kielce. 

The performance provokes and stirs many emotions, proven by the post-show discussion with the creators that continued late into the night. Were it not for the fact that it is Wednesday, we could likely keep talking for a very long time. Thank you for another evening together and a fascinating exchange of views!

Through a story about the contemporary realities of illegal tenement house appropriation, „The Kielce Protest. Who Does Kielce Belong To?” reaches into an erased past, including Kielce’s secrets and the 1946 Kielce pogrom. The questions the play raises, particularly those regarding fading memory, are universal– Ewa Pilawska,artistic director of the Festival, emphasizes.

The meeting with the creators, moderated by Aneta Kyzioł, focused on the making of the play, which uses a grotesque, pseudo-documentary style to explore the history of Kielce, specifically focusing on the city’s housing policy during the post-war period and the 1990s. The creators also spoke about the strictly theatrical context – during the modernization period of The Stefan Żeromski Theatre, because of the neighbouring tenement owners, the institution was plagued by a range of difficulties and absurdities that made running the investment a nightmare.  The artists also discussed the preparation process for the spectacle – accessing historical documents, conducting archival research, and analyzing media reports that, from today’s perspective, often seem unbelievable.

On Wednesday, 22 April 2026 we invite you to the second presentation of „The Kielce Protest…” – see you on our temporary stage in Pieter Smit. 

 The Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Kielce
Julia Nowak, Jakub Skrzywanek
„The Kielce Protest. Who Does Kielce Belong To?”
Directed by Jakub Skrzywanek
Dramaturgy: Julia Nowak,Paweł Sablik
Stage design and light directing: Agata Skwarczyńska
Costumes: Lila Dziedzic
Music: Szymon Tomczyk
Choreography: Agnieszka Kryst
Reporting cooperation: Piotr Szostak
Linguistic consultations: Stanisław Cygan
Folk singing preparation: Ewa Grochowska
Wedding band: Ewa Grochowska, Dorota Murzynowska, Marcin Żytomirski
Making a custom Polish folk wedding chandelier based on original project: Tomasz Arkadiusz Iskierka
Custom embroidery on costumes based on original design: Klara Anna Makowczyńska
Cast: Dagna Dywicka, Klaudia Janas, Beata Wojciechowska, Mateusz Bernacik, Kuba Golla, Łukasz Pruchniewicz, Dawid Żłobiński

 

Photos by Joanna Głodek