October 1964 – the Student’s Theatre of Poetry “The Eighth Day” is founded by a group of students at the Faculty of Polish Philology of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. The founders include Tomasz Szymański (the leader), Sława Baranowska, Stanisław Barańczak, Anna Bryłka, Elżbieta Einbacher, Janusz Grot, Janina Karasińska, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser, Danuta Pawlina, Lech Raczak.
3 December 1964 – premiere of the first performance
The Burning Theme
Montage of poems by Julian Tuwim
Script, director: Tomasz Szymański
Set design: Elżbieta Einbacher
Music director: Anna Bryłka
Cast: Sława Baranowska, Anna Bryłka (piano), Danuta Pawlina, Janusz Grot, Tomasz Szymański
February 1965 – premiere of
The Earth is Round
Montage of poems by Jadwiga Badowska
Sript, director: Tomasz Szymański
Set design: Tadeusz Badowski
Cast: Sława Baranowska, Marek Kirschke, Tomasz Szymański
March 1965 – premiere of
Waves of Experience
Montage of poems by Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, Osip Mandelstam
Script: Stanisław Barańczak
Director: Tomasz Szymański
Set design: Witold Wąsik
Music: Agnieszka Duczmal
Cast: Wiesława Abramowicz, Agnieszka Duczmal (flute), Danuta Pawlina, Janusz Grot, Marek Kirschke, Tomasz Szymański
22 May 1965 – premiere of
The Grand Testament
Based on François Villon’s poetry
Script: Stanisław Barańczak
Director: Tomasz Szymański
Set design: Witold Wąsik
Music: Agnieszka Duczmal, Henryk Duczmal
Cast: Danuta Dolacka, Agnieszka Duczmal (flute), Janina Karasińska, Ewa Klockiewicz, Janusz Grot, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser, Lech Raczak, Andrzej Szudera (guitar), Tomasz Szymański
Listopad 1965 – premiere of
Lalek
by Zbigniew Herbert
Director: Tomasz Szymański
Set design: Witold Wąsik
Cast: Danuta Dolacka, Janina Karasińska, Ewa Klockiewicz, Danuta Pawlina, Janusz Grot, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser, Lech Raczak, Andrzej Szalbierz, Tomasz Szymański, Bartłomiej Zieliński
April 1966 – first Polish staging of
The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade
By Peter Weiss
Director: Tomasz Szymański
Set design: Witold Wąsik
Music: Anna Urlich
Cast: Ewa Kaczmarek, Janina Karasińska, Ewa Klockiewicz, Agnieszka Ratajczak, Piotr Frydryszek, Janusz Grot, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser, Lech Raczak, Jan Stryjski, Andrzej Szalbierz, Tomasz Szymański, Bartłomiej Zieliński, Andrzej Zygmunt, Zbigniew Żółciak
8 April 1967 – premiere of
THE Varsovian Anthem
Based on the play by Stanisław Wyspiański
Script, mise en scène, director: Zbigniew Osiński
Composition of space and costume design: Witold Wąsik
Music: Ryszard Stachowski
Cast: Elżbieta Kalemba, Janina Karasińska, Piotr Frydryszek, Janusz Grot, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser, Lech Raczak
8 June 1967 – premiere of
The Dance of Death and Good Fortune
Based on poems by Velimir Khlebnikov
Script: Stanisław Barańczak and Lech Raczak
Mise en scène, director: Lech Raczak
Set design: Witold Wąsik
Cast: Danuta Dolacka, Maria Grzegorczyk, Janusz Grot, Bartłomiej Zieliński, Zbigniew Żółciak
30 October 1967 – premiere of
The Waste Land
Based on the poem by Thomas Stearns Eliot
Script, director: Tomasz Szymański
Set design: Witold Wąsik
Cast: Danuta Dolacka, Janusz Grot, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser, Tomasz Szymański
January 1968 – premiere of
Edward II, or The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer
Based on the play by Christopher Marlowe
Adapter of the text, director: Tomasz Szymański
Set design: Witold Wąsik
Technical management: Jacek Duch
Cast: Agnieszka Ratajczak, Andrzej Czerwiński, Janusz Grot, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser, Romuald Melerowicz, Lech Raczak, Marek Raczak, Andrzej Szalbierz, Roman Szmeterling, Tomasz Szymański, Bartłomiej Zieliński, Zbigniew Żółciak
March 1968 – the members and associates of the Theatre take an active part in students’ protests. Waldemar Leiser is among the students arrested in Poznań.
Summer of 1968 – Tomasz Szymański leaves the group. Lech Raczak assumes leadership.
18 October 1968 – premiere of
A Moment without Name
Montage of poems by Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński and Tadeusz Gajcy
Script: Elżbieta Kalemba, Ryszard Kacperski
Director: Ryszard Kacperski
Set design: Witold Wąsik
Music: Paweł Zaremba
Cast: Elżbieta Kalemba, Alina Leciejewska, Gracjanna Zacharska, Waldemar Leiser, Zbigniew Żółciak
November 1968 – premiere of
Ballad of the Hetman
Based on prose by Stefan Żeromski
Script, director: Lech Raczak
Set design, costume design: Witold Wąsik
Cast: Elżbieta Kalemba, Ryszard Kacperski, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser, Zbigniew Żółciak
2 May 1969 – premiere the second version of Ballad of the Hetman. Based on texts by Stefan Żeromski and Tadeusz Gajcy. Staged with the same cast. Script, director: Zbigniew Spychalski and Lech Raczak.
3 December 1969 – premiere of
The Escorial
Based on texts by Michel de Ghelderode, Miguel de Cervantes, Władysław Broniewski, Adam Ważyk and others
Ensemble creation
Script, directors: Marek Kirschke, Lech Raczak
Set design: Witold Wąsik, Janusz Froelich
Cast: Mariola Bilska (Elżbieta Kalemba since August 1970), Gabriela Bochniak, Jacek Hoffmann, Ryszard Kacperski, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser, Lech Raczak, Tadeusz Skutnik, Zbigniew Żółciak
28 April 1970 – premiere of
Introduction to…
Based on texts by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Bohdan Drozdowski, Mikołaj Kononow, Vladimir Lenin and others
Ensemble creation
Script, director: Lech Raczak
Art and design cooperation: Witold Wąsik
Technical crew management: Marek Raczak
Cast: Gabriela Bochniak / Elżbieta Kalemba, Jacek Hoffmann, Ryszard Kacperski, Marek Kirschke, Waldemar Leiser
6 August 1971 – premiere of the street performance
The Relay Run
Based on texts from the Bible and by Stanisław Barańczak, Władysław Broniewski, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Tadeusz Janiszewski, Vladimir Lenin, Tadeusz Nowak
Script, director: Lech Raczak
Music: Roman Sidor
Cast: Barbara Pietrzykowska, Bogdan Dołowicz, Lech Dymarski, Tadeusz Janiszewski (acting debut), Lech Raczak, Jerzy Strykowski
26 September 1971 – premiere of In One Breath at the 11th International Festival of Students’ Theatres in Zagreb. Award for the best performance of the festival.
19 December 1971 – The Theatre of the Eighth Day receives the ensemble award of the Minister of Culture and Art, Lech Raczak – the award for directorship, and In One Breath receives the Journalists’ Prize.
September 1972 – premiere of the second version of In One Breath, extended with a new part called Daily March.
21 October 1972 – premiere of Integration; Ewa Wójciak’s acting debut.
10 June 1973 – premiere of Inspection of a Scene of Crimie; Marcin Kęszycki’s acting debut.
October 1973 – premiere of the second version of Inspection of a Scene of Crime.
4 April 1974 – City council in Poznań provides the Theatre with a permanent theatrical facility in the basement of a building on Śniadeckich street 12.
28 February 1975 – premiere of We Must Confine Ourselves to an Earthly Paradise, Since That’s What They Call It…?; Adam Borowski’s acting debut.
30 January 1976 – actors of the Theatre of the Eighth Day take part in the protest against undemocratic changes in Polish constitution; they collect signatures under letters of protest. Ewa Wójciak and Tadeusz Janiszewski are arrested and strip-searched.
7 June 1976 – City council in Poznań cancels its previous decision and takes away the facility.
16 March 1977 – searches in flats of Adam Borowski, Tadeusz Janiszewski, Marcin Kęszycki, Waldemar Modestowicz, Jerzy Nowacki, Lech Raczak, Roman Radomski, Tomasz Stachowski.
22 March 1977 – censorship gives no permission for the premiere of Sale for Everybody; the performance is shown
as private staging.
March 1977 – cultural chapter of the authorities of Socialist Students’ Union issues a ban on performances of the Theatre of the Eighth Day at students’ events outside Poznań, including the famous theatrical rally in Łódź (Łódzkie Spotkania Teatralne).
8 June 1977 – with a hard-won permission of censorship, Sale for Everybody has an official premiere.
26 April 1978 – on their way to a theatre festival in Lublin (Konfrontacje Młodego Teatru), several members and associates of the Theatre are arrested in Warsaw: Roman Radomski, Tomasz Stachowski, Jadwiga Jurga, Piotr Jurga, Beata Ziemska (charges of assault and battery on a ticket conductor and two policemen).
May 1978 – the regional board of the Socialist Students’ Union bans the Theatre from staging Sale for Everybody, and the press receives a notice commanding them not to issue positive reviews of performances by the Theatre of the Eighth Day.
9 September 1978 – a local court in Warsaw pronounces the sentence in the assault and battery trial: Tomasz Stachowski is sentenced to one year of imprisonment (subsequently the sentence was suspended), and the remaining persons are fined and receive suspended sentences of four year of imprisonment.
September 1978 – The Theatre organizes a steet action called Poetry to the Streets! At the 1st International Meeting of Open Theatre in Wrocław and Oleśnica.
1 October 1978 – The Theatre of the Eighth Day, together with the Triple Action Theatre from the United Kingdom and the GIT group from Spain, stages a street theatrical protest called Liberté d'expression.
11 May 1979 – premiere of Oh, Have We Lived in Dignity; two days later, at the festival in Lublin (Konfrontacje Młodego Teatru), the performance wins the grand slam: the award of the Minister of Science and Higher Education, the Journalists’ Prize, and the Festival Committee’s prize.
1 June 1979 – by the agreement between the Socialist Students’ Union and the Minister of Culture and Art, the Theatre becomes a professional group; the ensemble members are officially employed by Estrada Poznańska, a state agency for theatrical arts.
16 May 1980 – the police, in agreement with the Warsaw division of the Socialist Students’ Union, prevents the staging of Oh, Have We Lived in Dignity at the Stodoła student club in Warsaw.
21 May 1980 – the ministry of Culture and Art does not allow the Theatre to go to take part in the Festival of Nations’ Theatre in Amsterdam.
11 September 1980 – members of the Theatre form their local division of NSZZ “Solidarność”, the only independent trade union in Communist Poland.
3 April 1981 – premiere of More than One Life.
October–November 1981 – the Theatre of the Eighth Day tours in Mexico.
13 December 1981 – imposition of martial law interrupts performances of the Theatre in Kraków.
January–June 1982 – the Theatre’s performances are suspended by the authorities.
13 February 1982 – the entire group takes part in a demonstration at the monument commemorating June 1956, the workers’ uprising in Poznań. Several members are arrested, and Roman Radomski is sentenced to one month of imprisonment.
19 and 20 June 1982 – the first, private staging of A Fable; two days later, the Theatre receives permission to give official performances.
28 June 1982 – Estrada Poznańska gives notice to all members of the Theatre; under public pressure, the decision is revoked in July.
30 June 1982 – the official premiere of A Fable.
September 1982 – in the unofficial circullation, Zbigniew Gluza’s Ósmy dzień [The Eighth Day] is published by the “Krąg,” an illegal publisher; the second revised edition is called Ósmego Dnia [On the Eighth Day], and is published by the KARTA in 1994.
10 October 1982 – Marcin Kęszycki is called up to serve in a punitive military unit for members of the Solidarność trade union. In this way, the authorities try to interrupt the Theatre’s work.
4 December 1982 – premiere of Ascent; the performance is prepared in a few weeks, without Marcin Kęszycki.
December 1982 – for its activities in 1982, the Theatre of the Eighth Day receives the cultural prize from the central board of the Solidarność trade union.
7 September 1983 – premiere of Report From a City Under Siege at the first International Festival of Street Theatres in Jelenia Góra.
15 May 1984 – the Theatre begins work in the theatrical facility provided by city authorities in Rataje, a housing project in Poznań.
1 June 1984 – the Ministry of Culture and Art revokes the permission for the Theatre to tour in Switzerland and Western Germany.
25 June 1984 – the Province Governor’s Office cancels its money grant for the Theatre.
28–31 July 1984 – all members of the group are given notice; city authorities take away the theatrical facility.
September 1984 – premiere of the street action Miracles and Meat in Lubomierz, at the second International Festival of Street Theatres.
17–22 September 1984 – the Theatre begins its unofficial activities with a series of performances in the Church of God’s Mercy in Warsaw.
April 1985 – the administration of Poznań’s university (Adam Mickiewicz University), under pressure from the ruling Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party, prevents the premiere of Wormwood at one of the University’s lecture rooms. The prohibition is issued immediately before the performance. A private performance is organized instead.
25 April 1985 – premiere of Wormwood in the church in Mistrzejowice.
June 1985 – June 1986 – the Theatre of the Eighth Day works simultaneously in Poland and abroad. Those members who were given passports stage Auto-da-fé (Polish premiere: 18 June 1985) in Western Europe. The remaining members stage A Minor Apocalypse in churches in Poland.
22 June 1985 – Adam Borowski, Tadeusz Janiszewski, Tomasz Stachowski and Leszek Sczaniecki present Auto-da-fé at the international theatre festival in Blois, France.
26 June 1985 – premiere of Auto-da-fé in Blois. The Theatre begins a grand tour of European theatre festivals. In Edinburgh, the group receives the Fringe First Award for Auto-da-fé. In Wales, they prepare a street action called Apocalypse.
29 June 1985 – premiere of A Minor Apocalypse in a hall by the church of Dolorous Mother of God in Poznań.
January 1986 – Lech Raczak leaves Poland for Western Europe.
May 1986 – premiere of If on a Certain Day, In a Happy Town… in Malmö, Sweden.
July 1986 – February 1989 – the Theatre of the Eighth Day works only in the West; where all members finally meet in 1988 (without Roman Radomski, who left the Theatre).
December 1986 – premiere of Passegiata a Mezz’aria (Strolling Above the Ground…), a street performance, in Sicily. Director: Lech Raczak. Cast: Daria Anfelli, Michèle Kramers, Barbara Theobaldt, Adam Borowski, Tadeusz Janiszewski, Tomasz Stachowski and others.
5 November 1987 – Ewa Wójciak leaves Poland for Western Europe.
30 April 1988 – Marcin Kęszycki leaves Poland for Western Europe.
14 May – 20 September 1989 – the Theatre of the Eighth Day takes part in the international peregrinating festival Mir Caravane, in which twelve European theatres follow a trouring route from Moscow to Paris. Apart from presenting their own performances, the groups prepare a joint one called Odyssey ‘89. In Moscow, on the 28th of May, the premiere of Meat is staged by the Theatre.
Autumn 1990 – the Theatre of the Eighth Day returns permanently to Poland.
1990 – Jacek Chmaj begins his cooperation with the Theatre; he prepared stagesets and co-authored all performances beginning with No Man’s Land.
1990 – Andrzej Titkow produces a documentary film Droga [The Road] about the Theatre.
18 January 1991 – premiere of No Man’s Land.
May 1991 – premiere of The East at the Open Ohr Festival in Mainz. Performance prepared by the Theatre of the Eighth Day in cooperation with Provisorium Theatre from Lublin and Teatr Biuro Podróży [Travel Agency Theatre] from Poznań.
1991 – Eksmisja, a documentary film about the Theatre is produced; Marek Nowakowski directs.
March 1992 – city authorities provide a money grant and a permanent theatrical facility on Ratajczaka street 44 in Poznań.
6 November 1992 – premiere of Requiem.
1992 – Joanna Helander and Bo Persson direct a documentary film Teater Attonde Dagen (Theatre of the Eighth Day).
12 May 1993 – televised version of No Man’s Land is produced by Dariusz Pawelec.
1993 – Lech Raczak leaves the group and Tadeusz Janiszewski replaces him as general director; Ewa Wójciak becomes the artistic director.
June 1993 – premiere of the second version of No Man’s Land.
1993 – Marek Nowakowski directs a documentary film Głos [the Voice], which records the meeting of members of the Theatre with Victor Erofyeev in Moscow in 1989.
2 June 1993 – premiere of Sabbath.
4 November 1994 – premiere of Dance, As Long as You Can in Oldenburg, Germany.
2 December 1994 – the “Teatr” monthly magazine awards the Konrad Swinarski Prize for directorship to Lech Raczak, and to actors of the Theatre of the Eighth Day, as ensemble creators, for their general artistic achievement.
1994 – Dorota Latour and Ewa Wanat direct Więcej niż jeden teatr [More than One Theatre], a documentary film produced to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Theatre of the Eighth Day.
22 May 1998 – premiere of the Ultimus show at the EXPO ’98 world exhibition in Lisbon.
2 June 1998 – premiere of The Summit in Stockholm.
15 August – 6 September 1999 – the Theatre of the Eighth Day leaves for Denmark, at the invitation of the organizers of the 35th Art Festival in Ǻrhus. The group presents The Summit and an open-air show Po drugiej stronie [On the Other Side], which celebrates the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and which is prepared in cooperation with the Peter Sabroe Seminariet institute.
2000 – Tadeusz Janiszewski resigns and leaves the position of general director; Ewa Wójciak assumes both general and artistic leadership of the group.
8 June 2000 – the Theatre of the Eighth Day, in cooperation with Kulturetage from Oldenburga, presents a show called And Yet, It is Turning at the EXPO 2000 in Hannover.
11 June 2000 – premiere of The Ark at the Holzminden Festival 2000 in Germany; the performance would be presented at international festivals for several following years.
15–16 May 2003 – The City, an open-air project of the Theatre of the Eighth Day, is launched in Stara Rzeźnia facility in Poznań. Several theatrical groups take part in the project: Theatre of the Eighth Day, Teatr Biuro Podróży, Porywacze Ciał, Teatr Usta Usta, Teatr Strefa Ciszy.
11 June 2003 – premiere of The Porter’s Lodge.
2003 – publication of Juliusz Tyszka’s book, Teatr Ósmego Dnia – pierwsze dziesięciolecie (1964–1973). W głównym nurcie przemian teatru studenckiego i poszukującego na świecie. [The Theatre of the Eighth Day – the First Decade (1964–1974). In the Mainstream of Student’s Theatre and Theatrical Explorations Worldwide].
28 June 2006 – premiere of an open-air performance, The Time of the Mothers as part of the anniversary celebration of workers’ uprising of June 1956 in Poznań.
10 January 2007 – premiere of The Files.
3 July 2007 – the Theatre of the Eighth Day is awarded a Special Prize for The Files in the 13th Competition for Best Staging of a Polish Contemporary Play.
27 June 2008 – the theatrical critics’ chapter of the Polish division of the International Theatrical Institute (ITI-UNESCO) awards the Theatre of the Eighth Day for popularizing Polish culture in foreign countries.
2008 – televised version of The Files is produced by Mariusz Malec.
22 October – 15 November 2008 – the Theatre stages The Files in the United States; 20 performances in New York, in the hall of the 59E59 Theatre, and four performaces on the stage of John Waldron Arts Center Indiana University in Bloomington; Portal nytheatrecast lists The Files among 24 outstanding performances in 2008.
Prepared and edited by Paulina Skorupska