Dwa teatry – dwa światy: dzień pierwszy
Two Theatres – Two Worlds: Day One

Summary/Abstract: A presentation of the origin of Juliusz Osterwa’s Reduta Theatre and Włodzimierz Staniewski’s ”Gardzienice”, closely connected with accompanying historical circumstances. In the case of the Reduta Theatre, founded in 1919, they involved the shaping of the renascent Polish state, and for “Gardzienice” – an attempt at seeking refuge from the absurdity of real socialism during the end stage of the Gierek era. The name of Osterwa’s theatre referred to its seat (the Ball Rooms at the Wielki Theatre in Warsaw), the tradition of entertainment, and a bastion – a redoubt fort system. Facts from the history of the struggle for a new Poland are thus accompanied by those from the struggle for a new theatre. ”Gardzienice” dates back to 1977. The universally accepted symbolic date of its origin is St. John’s Eve (24 June), a pagan festivity, and the eve of the celebrations of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (15 August), derived from folk tradition. The political, manners and morals, and even weather information acquired from the press of the period shows how the ideas of artistic visionaries are born in the hubbub of daily life.

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