The Ateneum Theatre in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

( pl, Teatr Ateneum im. Stefana Jaracza w Warszawie) is a Polish dramatic theatre founded in 1928. It resides in a building erected a year earlier in the interwar Poland as headquarters for the Professional Union of PKP Railway Workers with offices upstairs. After World War II, the severely damaged structure was restored to its former glory with public funds. The state-run theatre reopened in 1951; named after its first and already famous prewar director

Stefan Jaracz Stefan Jaracz (24 December 1883 – 11 August 1945) was a Polish actor and theater producer. He served as the artistic director of Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw during the interwar period (1930–32), and within a short period raised its reputation ...

History

The ''Ateneum'' Theatre began as an experimental stage with strong socio-political profile, under an Avant-garde-inspired name ''The Outpost of Spoken Word'' (Placówka Żywego Słowa). Its artistic manifesto was influenced by the mainly proletarian Warsaw neighbourhood of Powiśle in which it was established. Stefan Jaracz (1883 - 1945)

Two years into its existence, the artistic direction of Ateneum was taken over by popular actor

(1930). He worked there until the Nazi-Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

, sharing his responsibilities with Leon Schiller in 1932–33 season, and with

Karol Adwentowicz Karol Adwentowicz (19 October 1871 – 19 July 1958) was a Polish actor and theater director. Adwentowicz fought in the Polish Legions in World War I, and upon the return of Poland's sovereignty, embarked on a hugely successful touring career ...

(1934). Together, they raised the theatre's reputation as one of the leading voices for Poland's new

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

. The groundbreaking performances included '' The Street Scene'' by Elmer Rice (1930), ''

Danton's Death ''Danton's Death'' (''Dantons Tod'') was the first play written by Georg Büchner, set during the French Revolution. History Georg Büchner wrote his works in the period between Romanticism and Realism in the so-called Vormärz era in German h ...

'' by

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büc ...

(1931), ''Senat Szaleńców'' by

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

victim

Janusz Korczak Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit (22 July 1878 or 1879 – 7 August 1942), was a Polish Jewish educator, children's author and pedagogue known as ''Pan Doktor'' ("Mr. Doctor") or ''Stary Doktor'' ("Old Doctor"). After spending m ...

(1931), the ''Tsar Lénine'' by François Porché (1932), and in the vein of political ''Zeittheater'' of the time, '' The Captain of Köpenick'' by Carl Zuckmayer (1932) and '' Roar China!'' by Sergei Tretyakov (1933); not to mention the popular ''Ladies and Husars'' (Damy i Huzary) by Aleksander Fredro (1932) and ''The Open House'' by Michał Bałucki. The neighbourhood of Powiśle was almost completely destroyed by Nazi German bombardment during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

of 1944. The theatre was consumed by fire. It was practically rebuilt after the liberation, based on design by Wiktor Ballogh, with due consideration for its original look. The grand reopening took place on 22 July 1951, with the première of ''Intervention'' by Lev Slavin in the spirit of socialist-realist doctrine imposed by the Communist Party in

Stalinist Poland Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theor ...

. For the next forty years the theatre was under the direction of Janusz Warmiński (1922–1996) who managed to outlive and outgrow the Soviet system beyond the

revolutions of 1989 The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

. Almost all prominent Polish actors performed at Ateneum throughout its existence including

Jadwiga Andrzejewska Jadwiga Andrzejewska (1915–1977) was a Polish film and theater actress who was popular between the World Wars in Poland and Germany. Filmography This filmography lists only most important movies: * '' Milioner'' (1977) * '' A jeśli będzie je ...

, prof.

Aleksander Bardini Aleksander Bardini (17 November 1913 – 30 July 1995) was a Polish theatre and opera director, actor, notable professor at the State Theatre School in Warsaw. He appeared in 30 films between 1937 and 1994. Selected filmography * '' Long Is ...

Henryk Bista Henryk Bista (12 March 1934 – 8 October 1997) was a Polish actor. He appeared in over 110 films between 1961 and 1997. He starred in the 1977 film '' Death of a President'', which was entered into the 28th Berlin International Film Festiva ...

Zbigniew Cybulski Zbigniew Hubert Cybulski (; 3 November 1927 – 8 January 1967) was a Polish actor, one of the best-known and most popular personalities of the post-World War II history of Poland. Life Zbigniew Cybulski was born 3 November 1927 in a small vi ...

, Edward Dziewoński, Jerzy Duszyński, Tadeusz Fijewski,

Adam Hanuszkiewicz Adam Hanuszkiewicz (16 June 1924 – 4 December 2011) was a Polish actor and theatre director. Hanuszkiewicz was born in Lwów, Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 ad ...

Gustaw Holoubek Gustaw Teofil Holoubek (21 April 1923 – 6 March 2008) was a Polish actor, director, member of the Polish Sejm, and a senator. Holoubek participated in the September Campaign and was a prisoner of war during the Nazi German Occupation of Po ...

Emil Karewicz Emil Karewicz (13 March 1923 – 18 March 2020) was a Polish actor. Early life His acting career began in Wilno, at the local theatre, where he played the role of a monkey in the "Quartet" by Ivan Krylov. During World War II he served in the ...

Bogumił Kobiela Bogumił Kobiela (31 May 1931 – 10 July 1969) was a Polish stage and film actor. He was an actor of , Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw, Komedia Theatre in Warsaw, Bim-Bom student theatre, Kabaret Wagabunda and Kabaret Dudek. He suffered serious i ...

, Jan Kociniak, Agnieszka Osiecka, Aleksandra Śląska, and Roman Wilhelmi among others.

Notes and references

{{Authority control Theatres in Warsaw Buildings and structures in Warsaw

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Theatres completed in 1928 1928 establishments in Poland