Stefan Jaracz Theatre

The Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Łódź, Poland is the oldest theatre in the region. It is a repertory theatre subordinate to the Marshall Office of the Łódź Voivodeship. During the years 1888-1949 (when the theatre chose Stefan Jaracz as its patron) it was known as the Polish Theatre and the City Theatre.

The theatre opened on November 6, 1888 in the "Victoria" Building (currently a cinema). One Lucjan Kościelecki made notable efforts to bring the theatre to life. The first premiere was a staging of Kazimierz Zalewski's Apfels' Matrimony. The building situated at Piotrkowska Street served as the theatre's base till May 5, 1909 - when it completely burned down in a fire. The theatre's director - Aleksander Zelwerowicz (who ran the theatre between 1909–1911) - moved the company and crew to a structure at Jaracza Street (then named Cegielniana Street) where it resides to this day.

During Zelwerowicz's directorship Łódź as the first city of Congress Poland watched the now classic works of Stanisław Wyspiański - The Curse and The Wedding. The theatre continued to perform national drama, including Adam Mickiewicz's The Forefather's Eve, Juliusz Słowacki's Fantazy, The Silver Dream of Salome and Samuel Zborowski and Zygmunt Krasiński's Irydion.

Amongst the directors who managed the theatre in the interwar period were Bolesław Gorczyński, Karol Adwentowicz, Karol Borowski, Stanisława Wysocka and Kazimierz Wroczyński. But it was thanks to the works of Leon Schiller, who was persistent in forming his political theatre manifestos, that Łódź continued to be noticed on Poland's theatrical map. His most prominent performances of the period were Jaroslav Hašekś The Good Soldier Švejk, Friedrich Wolf's Cyankali, Sergei Tretyakov's Roar China!, Zygmunt Krasiński The Un-Divine Comedy and Juliusz Słowacki's Kordian.

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