The performance is for viewers aged 16 and over.
The performance incorporates low-frequency sounds and high-frequency flashing lights. Those sensitive to these sounds and lights should exercise caution.
Vulgarities are used in the play.

“New PAN TADEUSZ – But This Time, It’s Rap” is a concert-musical hybrid – an act of vandalism against Poland’s national epic, reinterpreting the Romantic masterpiece through the lens of modern Polish rowdiness and social pathology.

Surprisingly, Mickiewicz’s thirteen-syllable verse proves to be perfect rap material. This is vividly showcased by Koza, a rapper well-known to younger audiences. Behind the pseudonym is Kamil Białaszek, a theatre directing student at the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw.

The poem’s narrative is transplanted into a world somewhere between “Blokersi” and “Trailer Park Boys”, where rap and slang become natural modes of expression. The production’s director turns the spotlight on his own small homeland – Raszyn, a Warsaw satellite town – to dissect the manic nationalism that remains a dominant ideology among suburban and so-called “provincial” residents. The creators seek organic connections, juxtaposing the Polish post-transformation housing estate reality with the parochial Lithuania depicted by Mickiewicz. Contemporary street talk mingles and spars with the Polish alexandrine, while the stage showcases archetypes teetering between Sarmatian nobility and suburban hooliganism.

The whole production is framed as a musical, emphasised by wristbands and standing-room areas. Each scene is a directorial and acting tour-de-force (Teatr Polski’s ensemble is stellar!), and the finale – kicking off with a polonaise sequence – will leave you dizzy.

Crucially, the hip-hop pulses with authentic swagger; had it been just a hollow imitation, the play would’ve fallen flat. The production also manages to tame disco-polo and techno, weaving them into its fabric. The costumes are genius and the spectacle is punctuated by delightful jabs: from the mockery of Musk’s gestures to Mentzen’s face, a quote from The Deluge, a nod to Scyzoryk, and a wink at Polish butter churns at Eurovision.

Waldemar Kuligowski, UAM

A portrait of Polishness drawn with bold strokes – offering no concessions yet free of condescension, brimming with astute observations, unpretentious and laced with humour. It's impossible not to love this interpretation of Pan Tadeusz, which, instead of starting with the traditional Invocation, opens with a shout from the stage: “Big ups to the good guys from Lithuania!”

Aneta Kyzioł, Polityka

Language: Polish (English subtitles)

The performance will be followed by the meeting with the creators.

Cast

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