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Juliusz Slowacki Theater

The Juliusz Slowacki Theater in Krakow (Teatr im. Juliusza Slowackiego w Krakowie, or simply Teatr Slowackiego) is one of the first thing one sees after leaving the Krakow Train Station. And its hard to imagine a more magnificent welcome for any visitor. The eclectic wonder is only a hundred years old, and yet it has become an inherent part of the cityscape, and it's hard to picture Krakow without it.

The story behind the Juliusz Slowacki Theater

The initial idea to built what was to become the Slowacki Theater was conceived in 1872, during a time when Krakow was undergoing an extensive modernization. The existing Old Theater (Teatr Stary) could not meet the increasing demand of the public. It did take the municipal authorities a while to decide what should come first: the new Theater or the city waterworks, but it seems that those who live in Krakow would rather be dirty than deprived of entertainment.

It took another few years to raise the needed funds and decide where the new Krakow Theater should stand, and finally in 1893 the building was finished. Its architect, Jan Zawiejski, inspired by the opera houses in Vienna and Paris, designed the Theater in an eclectic fashion, which was popular at that time throughout the Austro-Hungarian empire. It was truly a state-of-the-art building – the first one in Krakow to have electric light. There was even a small power plant at the back, in the little building that is now the Miniature Stage.

The Slowacki Theater (at that time called the City Theater – it bears the name of Juliusz Slowacki since 1909) instantly became the center of Polish culture, mostly thanks to the contributions of Stanislaw Wyspianski, Poland's greatest and most influential artist of the turn of the century: a poet, a painter, but also a marvelous playwright and director. One of his greatest projects was the first full staging of Dziady, a Romantic drama by Adam Mickiewicz, one of the most important Polish plays in history. The eccentric Polish playwright and painter, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz debuted in the Slowacki Theater.

The Crisis and the Glory of the Slowacki Theater

The times of glory of the Slowacki Theater lasted until the 1930s – the the economic crisis didn't spare the Polish cultural life. Things have gone from bad to worse, when the Nazis occupied the city and brought their own troupe to stage their own plays. The Slowacki Theater was the apple of the eye of Hans Frank, the Nazi Governor residing in the Wawel Castle.

After the war the new, communist authorities of Poland tried to marginalize the role of the Slowacki Theater, but to no effect. The post-war generation of Krakow actors was an immensely talented and influential group. The most known artists that started their careers in the Slowacki Theater are Tadeusz Lomnicki and Gustaw Holoubek.

Teatr Slowackiego Today

Now, the Theater tries to continue its traditions of a place presenting authentic, touching art, not fearing modern themes, but not forgetting its roots. This season's repertoire includes classic comedies of Moliere, a criminal tale by Agatha Christie, the works of Wyspianski, and plays of young Polish playwrights and directors.

The Juliusz Slowacki Theater also lends its stage to the Krakow Opera, at least until the new Krakow Opera House is built. Spectacles of the Opera Krakowska can be seen on Sundays and Mondays.

A Must: The Magnificent Slowacki Theater's Curtain

Apart from the plays, there is at least one more reason to visit the Slowacki Theater: the astonishing, giant curtain, actually an oil painting by Henryk Siemiradzki, dating back to 1894, and presenting the allegory of the Tragedy and the Comedy.