War is on or war is over? „The Polish Thermopylae” at the 32nd Festival
On Saturday, 12 April 2026 we could see the first Master Presentation of this year’s edition of the Festival. It was „The Polish Thermopylae” – the spectacle directed by Jan Klata and produced by Narodowy (National) Theatre in Warszaw. The paralyzing vision of Polish history with black-metal music commenting it received a long standing ovation. After the spectacle there was a discussion with its creators which – if it hadn’t been for the fact that we had to go back – could go on for a long time. We returned to Łódź after 11 p.m. with a question whether „War is On” or „War is Over”…
„The Polish Thermopylae” is the first production of Jan Klata in Narodowy (National) Theatre in Warsaw since he took the position of its director in September 2025 and at the same time the event to mark the 260th anniversary of National Theatre. Tadeusz Miciński’s visionary drama (written in 1913) concentrates on the character of prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski who is dying in the raging waters of the Elster and – while balancing on the edge between life and death he is recalling in his head like in a movie, twenty-six years – from 1787 to 1813 – of dramatic events that decided about the fate of Poland: from convention in Kaniów to the Constitution of 3rd May, to treacherous Targowica, to Polish-Russian war in 1792, to Silent Sejm (parliament) in Grodno, to partitions and the Kościuszko uprising, to Massacre of Warsaw Praga and to heroic and bloody Battle of the Nations which was one of the last episodes of the Napoleonic Wars. Klata joins the 18th century’s Polish history with contemporary times and shows that certain political mechanism return and they never run out, that history comes full circle in a cycle of violence and helplessness. Are we able to get out of it?
The meeting after the spectacle was moderated by Jacek Cieślak and Jacek Wakar. During the discussion of the creators and the audience there were historical character construction themes (incorporating intricate, tangled backgrounds and complex lineages), tackling the Tadeusz Miciński’s text and the procedures that involve the audience in the narrative of the performance (like the gesture of the king, played by Jerzy Radziwiłowicz, singing the Polish anthem). The spectators noticed the talent and courage of Jan Klata who, while reaching for difficult texts, is able totranspose them into a theatrical language that hits the audience with incredible force, making them both communicative and evocative. References to other performances have emerged within the context of both theatrical language and the language of plays themselves, the Jan Klata’s productions that had been presented at our Festival – to mention „Liberation” and „Republic/Der Staat”. There was also an aspect of the topicality of Miciński’s text. Jan Klata and Jerzy Radziwiłowicz emphasizedthey would never want to create a topical theatre, as the strength of theatre lies in its timelessness. Thank you for another mutual Festival night, see you at next perfomances!
Narodowy (National) Theatre in Warsaw
Tadeusz Miciński
„The Polish Thermopylae”
Direction, stage adaptation and musical arrangements: Jan Klata
Stage and lighting design: Justyna Łagowska
Costume design: Mirek Kaczmarek
Dramaturgy: Miłosz Markiewicz
Choreography: Maćko Prusak
Video: Natan Berkowicz
Live music: Gruzja: Artur Rumiński – guitar, electronics, Bartosz Lichołap – drums, Patryk Rzeszutek – vocals, synthetizer, Mateusz Maryjka – bass.
Vocal preparation: Mariusz Chojecki
Cast: Anna Grycewicz, Danuta Stenka, Jerzy Radziwiłowicz, Oskar Hamerski, Robert Jarociński, Mateusz Kmiecik, Cezary Kosiński, Kamil Mrożek, Paweł Paprocki, Karol Pocheć, Marcin Przybylski, Adam Szpajda (guest appearance), Adam Szczyszczaj, Paweł Tołwiński and background actors.
Photos by Joanna Głodek
