34. ULICA Festival
For a few July days, the squares and streets of Krakow and Tarnów were transformed into theatre stages on which the artists materialised their visions with bodies, movement and other means of theatrical expression.
The audience spontaneously thanked for the experiences and emotions with standing ovations.
Bizzare acts on the stages were intertwined with bizarre weather and social events – the audience stayed with the artists even in the rain. This extraordinary time together showed how much outdoor theatre is awaited and adored; how much we all need real contact with others.
To quote Paweł Głowacki, the author of the Patient Fables created for the 34th edition of the festival – “Jerzy Zoń’s summer theatre ritual” has returned.
Sigismund Bell Parade
The exquisite mobile show for the 500th anniversary of the Sigismund Bell inauguration was a theatrical impression which, through costume, props, music and text, evoked the atmosphere of the old times. The moving parade showed the history of the Sigismund Bell in the context of the most significant locations in Krakow.
We admired a flag juggling show performed by the “Nowa Dęba” Knights Brotherhood, a commedia dell’arte scene by Trupa Komedianty, a performance by Cracovia Danza, Mazur dance by the Song and Dance Ensemble “Nowa Huta”, a fight show to music by the Włóczków Group and the Mlaskoty band, as well as the skills of artists, dancers and actors from the KTO Theatre, the “Krakowianie” Folk Dance Group, Capella Regia, and the dignified presence of the Kur’s Fraternity.
On the stage by the Town Hall, the actors Lidia Bogaczówna, Dariusz Starczewski and Łukasz Szczepanowski performed the interlude by Bronisław Maj. The script and direction of the Sigismund Bell Parade combined the visions of Romana Agnel and Jerzy Zoń.
We all witnessed the creation of a vivid image of the world that existed in the distant past. The performance was an example of beautiful cooperation between various cultural institutions and artists.
Enjoy our photo gallery forever holding the memories of the afternoon hours of July 13th.
Peregrinus Around the World
Since its premiere in 2015, PEREGRINUS (created and directed by Jerzy Zoń) has visited almost 60 cities on three continents.
We were at the inauguration of The Theatre Olympics in St. Petersburg, at the 375th anniversary of Montreal, at the EXPO in Milan, at festivals in New York, Seoul, Tbilisi, Vilnius, Tehran, London, Beijing, Chalon-sur-Saône, Tarrega, Sibiu, on the exotic Japanese island of Okinawa and in Arkhangelsk, where a crowd of audience stopped the escalator in the city’s largest shopping mall!
We have performed at almost 30 Polish festivals (including ULICA and Divine Comedy (Krakow), Contemporary Art Days (Białystok), International Performing Arts Festival A PART (Katowice), International Street Art Festival (Warsaw), International Theatre Festival Without Borders (Cieszyn), International Biennale of Social and Political Posters (Oświęcim), Theatre Festival InQbator (Ostrołęka), Grechuta Festival (Świnoujście) or Theatre Summer in Zamość.
Six seasons of beautiful meetings and journeys, 128 shows and 200 thousand kilometres under our belt, yet still we have great plans and a big appetite for the seventh season!
The photos come from the PEREGRINUS. EXHIBITION project by Bartek Cieniawa, an actor of KTO Theatre.
Tehran 2017
The turn of January and February is the time of the KTO Theatre frequent visits to Iran.
At one of the oldest and most important theatre festivals in this part of the world, we presented six shows directed by Jerzy Zon: Quixotage, I’ll Sell the House in Which I Can Live No More, The Fragrance of Time, Peregrinus, The Blind, and The Chorus of Orphans, honoured at the 35th Fajr International Theater Festival in 2017 with the Best Director Award and a Special Award for the Best Performance of the Festival.
In Tehran, we gave additional performances at the request of the spectators. The negotiations of the crowded audience with the organisers showed the position and importance of the festival presentations!
Our Iranian memories are certainly some of the most tender and exotic memories of our theatre travels.
The 33rd ULICA is one of the very few live festivals in 2020 not only in Poland, but also in the world.
Not as traditionally in July, but on the first weekend of September, artists from Chile, South Korea, France, Spain, Germany and Poland presented in the urban spaces of Krakow and Tarnów 16 various shows tied together by the leitmotif “bizzare acts”.
The 45 performances were admired by an audience of almost 15,000, and the atmosphere of this unique meeting in strange times has a special place in our hearts.
