ZACHWATOWICZ & WAJDA | Legends of the National Old Theatre

✦ Legends of the National Old Theatre ✦

After a week dedicated to Jerzy Stuhr and an exhibition recalling the work of Stanisław Radwan, as well as November events around the work of Konrad Świnarski, we invite you to the next installment of the Legends of the National Old Theatre series. This time we recall the extraordinary creative duo — Krystyna Zachwatowicz and Andrzej Wajda.

Andrzej Wajda was associated with the Old Theatre from 1963–2004; he prepared 18 titles there, including 16 together with Krystyna Zachwatowicz. The Senate of the Republic of Poland, wishing to honor the memory and work of the great Artist, declared him Patron of the Year 2026. The director believed that art can change reality, teach democracy and give people a sense of freedom. He used his excellent film craft in his theatre work: he was a master at casting actors, framing and editing images, and building space with light. He was an artist-painter, sketching space and figure with line, texture and color.

Emotional perception of space was the first impulse to work on the form of a stage work. At the Old Theatre he created most of his works with Krystyna Zachwatowicz designing sets and costumes. Zachwatowicz’s designs had a strong character, they were subjective both for the characters and for the fiction created on stage. The artists were a source of inspiration for each other.

PROGRAM:

• ★ March 2, 7:00–9:30 PM — screening of the play “Noc listopadowa”, Large Stage.
• ★ March 3, 7:00–9:30 PM — screening of the play “Zbrodnia i kara”, Large Stage.
• ★ March 4, 5:00–7:00 PM — Andrzej Wajda’s film and theatre workshop — conversation, Strefa Be.
  
  Guests: Olga Katafiasz, Sebastian Jagielski.
  
  Host: Mateusz Demski.
  
  During the conversation we will try to answer the question of what built not only Andrzej Wajda’s worldview, but also his language and visual style.
• ★ March 2, 3, 4, 5:00–6:00 PM — Performative tour of the Old Theatre building.
  
  Łukasz Zaleski guides through the traces of Andrzej Wajda’s and Krystyna Zachwatowicz’s stagings.
  
  Among props and costumes, between the stage and corridors, through anecdotes and stories we will learn: who did the famous director ring the bell for? Why is the photo from “Biesy” hanging upside down in the corridor? Or how did it happen that the actress who played Gertrude still had a chance to play Hamlet?
  
  Tickets: 15 zł — MICET box office and online sales.
• ★ March 5, 5:00–7:00 PM — “The Actor in Andrzej Wajda’s Theatre” — meeting, Strefa BE.
  
  Agnieszka Glińska, a director and actress who collaborated with Andrzej Wajda, will talk with artists about stage work: rehearsals, methods, relationships, emotions and stagings.
• ★ March 8, 4:00–6:30 PM — “Creators” – master class with Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda, Strefa Be.
  
  “Creators” is a series of master workshops led by acclaimed female artists associated with the National Old Theatre. The March edition is a meeting with Krystyna Zachwatowicz, who created over two hundred sets in Polish and foreign theatres and worked with the greatest directors of the 20th century. The workshop will take place in the scenography studio built from costumes, designs and fragments of recorded performances of “Biesy”, “Noc listopadowa”, “Zbrodnia i kara”, “Wesele”, “Hamlet IV”, “Mishima”. Krystyna Zachwatowicz will talk about searching for staging solutions for texts realized on stage.
• ★ March 2–8 — Krystyna Zachwatowicz’s Studio, exhibition, Strefa BE.
  
  The exhibition will present costumes designed by Krystyna Zachwatowicz for Andrzej Wajda’s productions staged at the Old Theatre in Kraków, including: “Biesy”, “Zbrodnia i kara”, “Noc listopadowa”, “Hamlet IV”, “Wesele”, “Mishima”, “Makbet” and costume designs for “The Italian Straw Hat” and “Zemsta”. Thanks to video recordings and photographs from performances, decorations and the work of actors in the created stagings will also be shown. Curator: Anna Litak.
• ★ March 2–8 — Andrzej Wajda’s stagings at the Old Theatre in Kraków, exhibition, Strefa Be.
  
  An exhibition of drawings, sketches, photographs and posters from Andrzej Wajda’s productions staged at the Old Theatre between 1963–2004, presented as a Slide Show in the windows of the Old Theatre building.
• ★ March 23 — accompanying event: podcASTary.
  
  Premiere of the next episode of Łukasz Zaleski’s podcast titled “Andrzej Wajda’s Theatrical World” available to listen on Spotify and YouTube.

Place: National Old Theatre, Kraków.