A striking new building for the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre (GTS) serves as a multi-purpose cultural centre for locals and tourists alike in this Polish port city.
Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre building: an impressive venue for art and education
- 10 April 2019
The Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre originates in a long tradition and at the same time makes use of 21st century technology. Evoking past centuries, it also ‘speaks’ in the language of the present era and aesthetics. It is in every way an extraordinary building, eminently worth visiting.
The theatre is built on the site of a 17th-century theatre, known as the Fencing School, which was used as the first public theatre in Poland for over 100 years. English travelling players performed there in William Shakespeare’s lifetime.
The present building, opened in September 2014, is a multifunctional, modern venue. The auditorium design is a reconstruction of the Elizabethan theatre interior, with the advanced technical features of a present-day theatre. The unique feature of this building is its opening roof, which allows ‘open air’ performances.
The GTS is a modern art centre, with theatre, dance, festivals, music concerts and visual art exhibitions. It runs educational projects, conferences and workshops. It aims to present and disseminate performing arts productions, create artistic activities, promote emerging artists and enhance the role of culture in education.
Old meets new
Built from anthracite-black bricks, with buttressed block forms and few windows, the large building appears as an experimental ‘black box’ theatre. It presents a striking contrast to the traditional red-roof buildings in Gdańsk’s Old Town.
The opening roof reveals the jewel in the casket: the wooden theatre where audiences can sit in the open air. An adaptable stage and auditorium allow the theatre to be configured as a traditional Italian ‘box’ stage, Elizabethan thrust stage, in the round, or even as a room with a flat 400 m2 floor area. Other theatre functions are housed over two floors with a roof terrace. Pedestrian walkways along the outer edges lead people around the complex.
The theatre was designed by architect Renato Rizzi following an international competition. Rizzi has received international recognition for the building: a Gold Medal for Italian Architecture in 2015 and an Architizer A+ Award in 2016.
Regional and international importance
The theatre’s presence has substantially increased the cultural and educational offer of the city and region and is an important aspect of their promotion. Over 500 000 people have visited since it opened in September 2014.
The artistic programme includes leading Polish productions. Cultural offers from other European countries are also presented in week-long festivals. The Music Stage is being intensively developed.
GTS is a co-organiser of the Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival, an international annual event founded in 1997 which combines performances’ presentations, workshops with theatre creators, and an exchange platform for professionals in the field of culture. In 2017 the festival was recognised as one of Europe’s six most exciting arts festivals with a ‘Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe’ award 2017-2018.
The building has an important educational function, helping to foster creativity through educational programmes combining lectures, meetings, workshops, interactive theatre and art activities.
The theatre has become an important tourist destination in the region. The recognition it has achieved included that of ‘best theatre’ (Australian Traveller magazine 2016) and Best Polish Tourist Product (Polish Tourist Organization 2017).
The project directly created 16 jobs, in addition to having a wider positive impact on various sectors of the Gdańsk economy, such as hospitality and culture.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Construction of the Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre building” is PLN 93 816 325 (EUR 21 743 922), with the European Regional Development Fund contributing PLN 51 188 756 (EUR 11 864 079) through the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for the 2007-2013 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Culture and cultural heritage”.