The Eighth Day Theatre was founded in 1964 as the Student Poetry Theatre of the Eighth Day. Lech Raczak became its director in 1968. Ewa Wojciak, Adam Borowski, Tadeusz Janiszewski, and Martin Kęszycki – the artists who today form the backbone of the theatre – joined the group in the early 1970s. Soon the Theatre of the Eighth Day became one of the most important political theatres in Poland, and later also in the world. The background for their artistic achievements in the 1970s and 1980s was a constant conflict with the communist authorities. It resulted in forced emigration, ended with their return to Poland in 1990. In 1993 Lech Raczak left the group. Today the Eighth Day Theatre, led by Ewa Wojciak presents both low-key indoor performances and outdoor productions addressed to the general public, however, all of them are invariably inspired by important social and political issues.The Factory is another from the series of art projects by the Eight Day Theatre based on people’s testimonies. We live in the times of technological expansion which gradually changes the economy. Our project came about from the need to describe the fading world of labor, and to give voice to those who helped building it and who now find themselves in oblivion. Its first edition took place in the Cegielski factory plant – a symbolic place in the history of Poznan and Poland. We displayed short stories of a few generations of workingmen and engineers, who explain the everyday life in the factory, the sense of community in a large production plant. But the factory is a protagonist in and of itself. Its unique, artistically warped landscape, is one of the main narrative threads of the show. We strove to capture the melancholic charm of the industrial space, and more importantly, the great sense of dignity of the people entwined in the history of the plant. The Szczecin-based production will be an attempt of dialogue with history of another big factory, equally important for individual fates of people associated with it, and for the entire city: the Szczecin Shipyard.
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