Opening Night: 22 November 2025
Author: Tadeusz Miciński
Title: The Polish Thermopylae
Original Title: Termopile polskie
Stage adaptation and direction: Jan Klata

Auditorium: Boguslawski Hall

Tickets | more info →

full-price tickets:
zone I: 140 PLN
zone II: 130 PLN
zone III: 110 PLN

discount tickets:
zone I: 95 PLN
zone II: 85 PLN
zone III: 75 PLN

rush ticket: 
50 PLN 

students at state-run art schools: 
15 PLN 

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The Polish Thermopylae

In his first play at the National Theatre, director Jan Klata has opted for Tadeusz Miciński's The Polish Thermopylae. As he announces in his programme notes, it is "a phantasmagoria about the cursed fate […] of our corner of Europe. About Poland, Russia, Ukraine, about the shadow that Fate has cast on successive generations of History's cannon fodder."

But why is this director, known for his bold interpretations of literary classics, returning to this text today? What can we learn from its original creator, a poet of stars and darkness, an author of mystical novels who died in 1918 ? Is History really the teacher of life?

In 1997, at the National Theatre following its rebuild after a fire, Jerzy Grzegorzewski opened his directorship with Stanisław Wyspiański's November Night. It dealt with the tradition of Polish uprisings and the painful dilemma: "To fight or not to fight?" This question is once again raising its ugly head in the "pre-war period" in which we are currently living. How will the National Theatre ensemble, led by Jan Klata, respond?

The premiere of The Polish Thermopylae will take place on November 22, 2025, to mark the 260th anniversary of the National Theatre.


stage adaptation and direction: Jan Klata
set and lighting design: Justyna Łagowska
costume design: Mirek Kaczmarek
choreography: Maćko Prusak
video: Natan Berkowicz

Cast

Production team

  • lighting technicians: Bartłomiej Kaczalski, Zbigniew Szulim, Krzysztof Łukasz Stefan
  •   
  • sound technicians: Mariusz Maszewski, Marek Szymański, Hubert Majewski
    •  
  • video projections: Mariusz Chałubek, Paweł Woźniak

  • THE POLISH THERMOPYLAE

    In his first play at the National Theatre, director Jan Klata has opted for Tadeusz Miciński's The Polish Thermopylae. Opening Night: 22 November 2025

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  • HEAVEN AND HELL

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  • A DREAM PLAY

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  • KING LEAR

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  • WAITING FOR GODOT

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  • THE THEATRE MAKER

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  • ALICE'S WONDERLAND

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  • THE MISANTHROPE

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  • THE DECALOGUE

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  • MARY STUART

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  • MÜNCHHAUSEN FOR ADULTS

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  • Solidarity with Ukraine | Солідарні з Україною

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  • PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

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  • AUTUMN SONATA

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  • MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS

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  • LUNGS

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  • UHLANS

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  • THE IMAGE MAKERS

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  • FOREFATHER'S EVE

    Mickiewicz's poetic drama interpreted by Lithuanian Master Eimuntas Nekrošius — theatre visionary known for his unique theatrical language.


  • KORDIAN

    The Polish nation's tragic choice: to die heroically in the name of a noble idea or live a life "making shoes for dogs"? — the alternative presented to Kordian in two parables.

  • FLEA THE SWINDLER

    Tremendous fun and great laughs – not just for kids. The antics of the Flea are directed by Anna Seniuk with the music composed by Maciej Małecki.


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