The UNEXPECTED VICTORY OF THE POLISH-CZECH UNION in World War III

About

We are in 2034. Russia has occupied Ukraine and the Baltic States. Hungarians and Slovaks have left the EU and voluntarily acceded to the Russian Federation. The Czechs and the Poles are the only Central-European nations left to stand for European values. The West sees the two brave nations as a wall protecting European civilisation from collapse. The French write philosophical treatises about us, the Germans keep their fingers crossed, and the Americans send us military aid. Everyone is well aware that the Poles and the Czechs must stick together. Facing the imminent disintegration of the fractured EU, an idea arises to sign a Union Treaty that would unify the two nations. Time is pressing as the Russians are threatening to start a war, and someone must come up with a narrative that will support the historical ties between Poland and Czechia and prove that indeed they have always been fraternal nations, or one nation, actually. The problem is that neither politicians nor soldiers are capable of devising any such story, let alone selling it to people. So, the task to prove the existence of the Polish-Czech Union falls upon the personalities of culture.

This is the first NT Drama’s co-production project where its ensemble and the ensemble of the J. Słowacki National Theatre in Kraków will perform together at an extraordinary venue, in a piece prepared by Czech-Polish director Jakub Krofta.

The J. Słowacki National Theatre in Kraków (formerly the Municipal Theatre in Kraków) has performed without interruption since its establishment in 1893. It is a leading and recently also one of the most progressive Polish theatres. Classical Polish dramas, such as The Wedding by Stanisław Wyspiański and Dziady (Forefathers' Eve) by Adam Mickiewicz premiered there. Apart from the aforementioned Stanisław Wyspiański, artists renowned in Poland and throughout Europe have cooperated with the theatre, such as Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy), Tadeusz Kantor, Krystian Lupa, Maja Kleczewska, Agata Duda-Gracz, Bohdan Korzeniewski, Kazimierz Dejmek, Walery Fokin, Helena Modrzejewska, Irena Solska, Ludwik Solski, Stefan Jaracz, Tadeusz Łomnicki, Gustaw Holoubek, and many others.
In 2025, the theatre was re-assigned the status of National Theatre, joining the two other theatres vested with the same title, namely Teatr Stary in Kraków and Teatr Narodowy in Warsaw.

Cast

Marie Poulová

Anna Tomaszewska

Marek Daniel

Rafał Dziwisz

Šimon Krupa

Jiří Kohout

Daniel Malchar

Rafał Dziwisz

Creatives

Translation: Jakub Krofta

Stage director: Jakub Krofta

Dramaturgy: Róbert Štefančík

Set design: Matylda Kotlińska

Music, sound design: Daniel MalcharKamil Malchar

Light design: Damian Paell