A dazzling phenomenon, the play has created a true community among the audiences of the Słowacki Theatre in Kraków and the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre (where it is regularly staged). Directed by Katarzyna Szyngiera, with the script penned by the outstanding journalist Marcin Napiórkowski and music composed by Andrzej “Weber” Mikosz, this hip-hop musical is compared to the famous Hamilton, a legendary production that still graces the Broadway stages. Hamilton recounted the tale of the founding fathers of the United States of America, while 1989 delves into the Polish 1980s, the decade of “Solidarity”. Heroes of the time – Kuroń, Frasyniuk, and Wałęsa – walk the stage, yet the spotlight is on the women, long remaining in the shadows in narratives touching those events. Superb rhymes, powerful music, and energetic performances make the audience experience 1989 as a rock concert. The play restores faith in the power of positive myths. “Let’s make noise, let’s make racket, may Poland wake up...” the audience have sung over the past months, giving the play the power of a manifesto uniting all people of good will. A must-see for everyone, while aficionados appreciate the marvellous design and production on “all the fronts”. The Słowacki Theatre’s ensemble proves that it undoubtedly belongs among the best in the country.

→ after the performance, a meeting with the creators is led by: Jacek Cieślak

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The play makes use of a musical quote from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton and an excerpt from the film Taśmy z Magdalenki (directed by Cezary Gmyz, script by Antoni Dudek) produced in 2015 for the IPN Institute of National Remembrance by Telewizja Republika. The excerpt comes from the 5.5-hour recording made by the SB Security Services and handed over by Czesław Kiszczak to Polish TV in 1999.

The credits use Lombard font designed by Ania Wielusińska.

honorary patronage: Mieczysław Struk, Marshal of the Pomorskie Regionego, Mayor of Gdańsk

Cofinanced by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund.

The production uses financial support from: the Authorities of the Pomeranian Region and the City of Gdańsk.

content partner: European Solidarity Centre