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PAN TADEUSZ / SIR THADDEUSThe one-man show performed by Mateusz Nowak based on Adam Mickiewicz’s Polish national epic „Pan Tadeusz”
Playscript: Stanisław Miedziewski and Mateusz Nowak
Directed by Stanisław Miedziewski
Literary consultation and stage speech coaching by Barbara Michałowska-Rohin
Lighting: Marcin ‘Kabat’ Kowalczuk, Maciej Sierosławski
Sound: Kamila Bilińska, Marcin ‘Kabat’ Kowalczuk
Produced by Słupsk Cultural Center, Słupsk Society for Theater Culture – Rondo
Theater
Performance partner: Eastern Theater in Lublin
Running time: 75 minutes (no intermission)
Premiere: March 26, 2025, Rondo Theater in Słupsk
Recommended for audiences aged 16 and older
Mateusz Nowak’s one-man show „Pan Tadeusz” is a unique theatrical event that
proves classics can be vibrant, moving, and surprisingly relevant today. This
performance is not a mere “adaptation of a classic”, it is a full-fledged encounter with
Mickiewicz’s world, an experience that audiences describe as a true feast for the
spirit and the senses.
Mateusz Nowak, an actor endowed with extraordinary energy and charisma, single-
handedly brings the entire world of Soplicowo to life, with its characters, emotions,
conflicts and humor. With incredible precision, he wields words, gestures and stage
movement, seamlessly embodying numerous characters. Each of them is vivid, “as if
alive,” and the audience feels as though they are truly participating in the story being
told. The audience praises his masterful diction, excellent vocal work, impressive
memory and acting technique, which make the hour in the theater fly by.
It is a dynamic performance, full of emotion and surprises. Iconic scenes from the
epic, such as the bear hunt or Jankiel’s koncert, take on new power thanks to the
director’s original interpretation, evocative lighting and creative use of simple props
and costumes. Audiences often say that “they have finally seen the scenes
Mickiewicz described,” something school could not provide them with.
The monodrama works on many levels. It delights literary scholars, moves theater
lovers, and at the same time opens „Pan Tadeusz” to those who have so far viewed
it merely as obligatory reading. Young audiences discover a different, fresh face of
Romanticism, while older viewers return to the familiar text with a new sensitivity to
Mickiewicz’s work, as proposed by Mateusz Nowak. The actor’s close, natural
connection with the audience makes everyone feel invited into the world of the story
and no one remains indifferent. This is one-man theater at its finest, daring,
mesmerizing, and “refreshing” a great national masterpiece.
In addition to its previous performances in Poland, the play was successfully
presented at the 23rd International Monodrama Festival „Armmono” at the Henrik
Igityan National Centre for Aesthetics (Yerevan, Armenia), the 31st International
One-Actor Theater Festival „Sám na javisku” at the Družba Drama Studio (Trenčín,
Slovakia), and the 40th International Festival of Non-Traditional Theaters KOPRIVA
2026 (Koprivnice, Czech Republic), where it received the Organizers’ Award.
„Pan Tadeusz” marks the culmination of a 15-year collaboration between Stanisław
Miedziewski and Mateusz Nowak. Thanks to his collaboration with the director of
Słupsk’s Teatr Rondo, Mateusz Nowak has become one of the most recognizable
and acclaimed Polish monodramatists in the world.
MATEUSZ NOWAK (1986) – solo performer, cultural animator and manager, theater curator and producer, aas well as artistic speech therapist. President of the Polish Center of the International Theatre Institute (ITI). Artistic Director of the “Teatr w Remizie” Festival in Hel. Since the premiere of his debut monodrama “teatralność” in 2011 he has been the most frequently performing and award-winning Polish monodramatist abroad. In 2026, he celebrates the 15th anniversary of “his” one-man theater “T1A: MATEUSZ NOWAK.” Over the course of these 15 years he has performed his monodramas, “teatralność,” “Od przodu i od tyłu,” “Żertwa,” and “Pan Tadeusz”, all directed by Stanisław Miedziewski. All of them have been performed over 350 times, including nearly 70 times abroad, in 20 countries across 4 continents: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Germany, South Africa, Russia, Slovakia, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine.
He has won nearly 40 awards for his performances, including 13 at international festivals (Albania, the Czech Republic, Kosovo, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine). He is the only Polish monodramatist to have presented his performances at festivals in Kuwait and South Africa. Alongside Birute Mar, Aleksandra Rubinovasa, and Pip Utton, he presented a monodrama during the European Capital of Culture celebrations, Paphos 2017 (Cyprus). In 2025, as part of the pre-celebrations for the European Capital of Culture, Trenčín 2026, he completed a workshop residency dedicated to monodrama at the invitation of Dogma Divadlo in Trenčín (Slovakia). Recipient of the Gold Medal on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the “Armmono” International One-Person Theater Festival in Yerevan (Armenia).
He is the only recipient to date from outside China and Mongolia of the “Best Young Artist” award presented by the jury of the “Saint Muse” International Theater Festival in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia). He has served as a juror at the “Atspindys” International Theater Festival in Visaginas (Lithuania) and the “ClassFest” International Theater Festival in Chișinău (Moldova). He has collaborated with Divadlo Kontra (Spisska Nowa Wieś, Slovakia), Pip Utton Theatre Company (London, United Kingdom), and Teatr w Koszyku (Lviv, Ukraine), as well as with ITI MONODRAMA FORUM, the monodrama section of the International Theatre Institute. Articles on his work have appeared in the German, Lithuanian, Slovak, and Ukrainian press, as well as in the Polish monthly “Teatr” and others.
He has won awards in Poland at festivals in Częstochowa, Gdańsk, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Kłodzko, Lublin, Olsztyn, Tychy, Warsaw, and Wrocław. He has been recognized by journalists, juries, and audiences alike. He is one of the protagonists of the book “166 Monodramas” by Tomasz Miłkowski (Wrocław, 2016). From 2011 to 2022, he served as curator and producer of projects under the “T1A” (One-Actor Theater/One-Actress Theater) brand in Lublin. From 2022 to 2025, he was the curator of the “Mono at the Institute” series at the Theater Institute in Warsaw. He collaborates regularly with the Rondo Theater in Słupsk and the local “Alone on Stage” Festival.
In recent years, he has collaborated with the Tri-City-based brand “MONOTEATR” (Theatrum Gedanense Foundation, Teatr w Oknie) and the Toruń One-Actor Theater Festival (Teatr Baj Pomorski). He is the initiator and moderator of the industry discussions “Mono at the Institute/Mono in Poland” (Theater Institute, Warsaw) and “The Future of the MONO Planet” (Baj Pomorski Theater, Toruń). Recipient of the Bronze Cross of Merit and the “Meritorious for Polish Culture” Honorary Badge, as well as the 700th Anniversary Medal of the City of Lublin and the Commemorative Medal of the Lublin Province. Recipient of awards from the Marshal of the Lublin Province, the Minister of Culture, National Heritage, and Sport, and the Mayor of Lublin. Recipient of scholarships from the Marshal of the Lublin Province, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, and the Mayor of Lublin. M ultiple-time beneficiary of the “Polish Culture in the World” Program of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
He has been nominated six times for the City of Lublin Arts Award. For over a decade, he has been successfully working as a recitation instructor and artistic speech therapist. He was active as a reciter himself from 1997 to 2013. Winner of dozens of individual recitation awards and seven instructor awards. His students have won approximately 150 awards at national and international recitation competitions. He collaborates as a theater artist with the Doswied Foundation in Lublin. Since 2025, he has been associated with the Cultural Center in Piaseczno, among other roles, as a curator of theatrical events. He serves as a juror for theater festivals and recitation competitions. He is also a curator of literary events and frequently reads texts himself during author meet-and-greets. He also leads meetings and workshop sessions on monodrama. He performs solo literary programs. He lives in Lublin.
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Event venue
Lubartowska 30a, 20-085 Lublin, Poland, ulica Lubartowska 30A, 20-123 Lublin, Polska, Lublin, Poland
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