About theatre Gardzienice

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The Gardzienice Centre for Theatre Practices

Founded in 1977 by Włodzimierz Staniewski, it became known in the world thanks to performances and rigorous theatrical practices (see Alison Hodge, Twentieth Century Actor Training, Routledge edition). Theater “Gardzienice”; performances, shows and theater didactics are the basis of the statutory activity of the Center. But there’s much more to it, including:

  • Gardzienice Gallery,
  • Academy for Theatre Practices,
  • workshop sessions for schools,
  • universities and artists from all around the world,
  • the “Generator Nadziei” – a program enabling young emerging theater artists production of new performances (in the years 2015-18, there were 10 premieres),
  • artistic and scientific research (theater, music, movement, drama, interdisciplinary humanities),
  • artistic and scientific conferences in cooperation with Polish and world academic centers,
  • Archive. Over the past 40 years, several hundred artists from Poland and the world have worked here.

About “Gardzienice”

In September 2013, the new theatre complex in Gardzienice was opened. The Renaissance palace and the surrounding park have been lifted from ruins and miraculously resuscitated. The reconstruction project was made possible thanks to the funding from the European Union.

Alison Hodge, 'Twentieth Century Actor Training', Routledge 1999

“The GARDZIENICE company has become well known for its rigorous investigation of indigenous and ancient musical traditions, its powerful physical and vocal techniques, its commitment to the creation of theatre in a natural environment, and its emphasis on principles of mutuality and musicality in training.”

Tadeusz Kornaś, 'Staniewski and Centre for GARDZIENICE Theatre Practices', Homini

“The theatrical doctrine of Staniewski, called “the ecology of the theater” is mentioned today as one of the most important.Many artists and theater groups in the country and abroad draw heavily on exploration and achievements of GARDZIENICE Theatre. Another constellations of people whom Staniewski gathered around him were – always – an international varieté. Exploration of antiquity and turning to literary, musical and mythological threads of antiquity allowed to communicate overcultural and stereotypical divisions.”

Susan Sontag in a note to: "Hidden Territories"

“The achievements of GARDZIENICE come as a wonderful gift… Under the inspired leadership of Włodzimierz Staniewski, the Gardzienice group are, in my view, one of few essential theatre companies working anywhere in the world today.”

Hunderets of artists and cultural life organizers from Poland and the world worked for the past over 40 years in the Centre for Theatre Practices GARDZIENICE. Their long-term contributions to the mission and traces of their creative presence are established in the literature and in the annals describing the battles and subsequent stages of evolution of the theater. The two of them deserve special recognition. They are Mariusz Gołaj and Tomasz Rodowicz.

September 2013 saw the opening of a new theater complex in Gardzienice. Driven to complete destruction by successive owners (within sixty years after the war) – architectural complex of palace and park is now risen from the ruins and ashes and miraculously reanimated. EU funding was obtained for the reconstruction project.

Staniewski is the initiator of this project, the author of the concept, fundraiser and executor of implementation – to the smallest detail. He calls this the most important directorial project, his opus magnum.

See the beginnings of Center for Theatre Practices

Downloadable materials