Witkacy Theatre

The Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Theatre (Witkacy Theatre) was founded in Zakopane by a group of graduates of the State Higher School of Theatre (PWST) in Krakow (Julia Wernio and Andrzej Dziuk and future actors: Dorota Ficoń, Karina Krzywicka, Piotr Dąbrowski, Andrzej Jesionek, Krzysztof Łakomik, Krzysztof Najbor and Piotr Sambor).

The idea itself was born among the students of the Department of Drama Direction and the Department of Acting while they were still students. Witkiewicz's play The Pragmatists was staged on 9 August 1984.

After concluding an official agreement with the Helena Modrzejewska Theatre Enthusiasts' Association, the theatre began its activities on 24 February 1985 with a production of Autoparodia based on texts by Witkacy from Zakopane, directed by Andrzej Dziuk. The theatre's seat on Chramcówki Street is a room in the Chałubiński Hotel (the former Dr Andrzej Chramiec Water Treatment Facility, later the Red Cross Sanatorium transformed into the Chałubiński Sanatorium).

A series of theatre premieres is linked to the summer and winter tourist seasons. The theatre hall also hosts numerous art exhibitions, concerts and theatre festivals. It is currently a cultural institution of the Malopolska Region. From the very beginning until now (information from 2007), it has been managed by one of its founders, Andrzej Dziuk, who directs most of the productions. The cast of actors still includes those associated with the theatre from its earliest days: Dorota Ficoń, Krzysztof Łakomik and Krzysztof Najbor.

In 2004, the Gdańsk-based słowo/obraz terytoria publishing house published Barbara Świąder's monograph W metafizycznej dziurze. Witkacy Theatre in Zakopane. Interviews with the creators of the Witkacy Theatre are supplemented with photographs by Wojciech Plewiński and documentation by Marcin Zawada.

Director Andrzej Dziuk and his ensemble are laureates of the Konrad Swinarski Prize - awarded by the editors of the monthly magazine "Teatr" - for the 1986/1987 season, "for the creation and artistic activity of the Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Theatre in Zakopane".

Theatre website: https://witkacy.pl/pl/