About us

ABOUT US

Our theater knows how to listen and treat audiences as inspirational partners, engaged in art and civic activities, characterized by openness to new initiatives and different audiences. Our key aim is to create a theater which fits the challenges facing young people and their guardians today, while also offering high quality art and functioning as a modern, active cultural institution which meets the needs of the capital city.

We make all this happen by offering a repertoire which is diverse in form and content, establishing a meaningful educational program, working with a range of non-governmental organizations and the pedagogical community.

Our actors

Meet all

History

Guliwer Puppet Theater has been based in Warsaw for over 75 years. It was established by a group of puppeteering enthusiasts headed up by Irena Sowicka, a graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, in October 1945.

At first, it was based in at the headquarters of the Workers’ Friends of Children Association at No 8 Marszałkowska Street in Warsaw. This was where – in April 1946 – its first premiere was staged: this was “Szewczyk Dratewka” / The Twining Shoemaker, based on a story by Maria Kownacka, directed by Irena Sowicka. In December 1947, following the premiere of a play titled “Guliwer w krainie liliputów” / Guliwer in Lilliputian Lands, the theater adopted the name it is known by today.

In 1952, the Theater was nationalized. For many years after that, it did not have a permanent home. It wasn’t until 1970, following three years of reconstruction works, that it found its permanent home at No 16 Różana / Rose Street in the capital.

Irena Sowicka was director of the theater for the first eight years of its existence, staging a total of 12 premieres in that time. She was followed as director by the likes of  Aleksandra Gruszczyńska-Grzymska, Zbigniew Kopalko, Szczepan Baczyński and Stanisław Gęsicki, then later on by Monika Snarska – a legend in Polish puppeteering circles, responsible for staging many performances which stood out due to their musical content. Guliwer put on operas, ballets, ballades and epic plays. In later years, it was directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz and – up to August 2020 – by Mirosław Korzeb. During his tenure, our theater’s artistic directors included Joanna Łupinowicz, Włodzimierz Fełenczak, Zbigniew Lisowski, Konrad Dworakowski, Piotr Tomaszuk and Robert Jarosz. Robert Drobniuch has held the post of director since September 2020.

Team

Director
Robert Drobniuch

Deputy Director
Monika Kulesza

Technical Department Manager
Marta Zając-Bar

Comunication, Promotion and Audience Development Manager
Agnieszka Evans

Graphic Designer
Julia Juzyk

Playwright/Promotion Specialist
Mariusz Gołosz

Audience Organization Specialist
Anna Miller

Accounts
Marta Świca – Chief Accountant
Żaneta Lesica – Specialist accounts / cashier

Chief Specialist for human resources and accounts
Grażyna Śliwa

Administrative Manager
Ewa Husarzewska

Dressers
Małgosia Grabara
Jacek Poniński

Art-Lab Studio
Marek Borkowski – Workshop director
Elżbieta Zajączkowska – Theatrical crafts specialist

Acoustics
Wojciech Karwacki
Łukasz Szulc

Electro-Acoustics
Marta Zając-Bar

Lighting
Damian Pawella
Bartosz Srebrzyński

Stage Operations
Mariusz Czyż – Stage foreman
Marek Dracz – Scene fitter
Tadeusz Dornowski – Scene fitter
Irwin Turowski – Scene fitter

Audience Organization
Jolanta Kubicka
Martyna Jurczak
Katarzyna Torój – Madany
Khrystyna Velychko

Information / Switchboard
Halina Piekarska

Concierge
Małgorzata Bojanow
Helena Ptasznik
Sławomir Czapla

Management

Director
Robert Drobniuch

Theatrical director, cultural manager and animator.

2012 -2020 – director of the Kubuś Theater of Puppets & Actors in Kielce, as of September 2020 the director of Guliwer Puppet Theater in Warsaw. Graduate of direction faculty at the A. Zelwerowicz Theatrical Academy in Warsaw, the Puppet Art Department in Bialystok and post-graduate studies in directing opera and other music theater forms at PWST in Krakow. Graduate of the International Course for Cultural Operators attached to the National Cultural Center and numerous courses and workshops. He co-created the Bialystok Kolegtyw Artists’ Association and the Białysztuk International Theatrical Initiatives Revue

He creates performances for children and adults, diverse in terms of genre (for example, he has directed the children’s opera Myszki i wojna, czyli o dzielnym Albercie i żółtym serze / Mice and War, all about brave Albert and yellow cheese and a staging of Sklepy cynamonowe by Burnon Schulz as shadow theater).

As a director, he has worked with theaters in Poland and abroad (incl. Białostocki Teatr Lalek, Teatr Guliwer in Warsaw, Teatr „Maska” in Rzeszow, Teatr Współczesny in Szczecin, Teatr „Pleciuga” in Szczecin, Krakow Opera Teatr Muzyczny in Poznan, Divadlo Loutek in Ostrava, Stambul Karagoz Puppet Foundation, Teatr Dramatyczny in Gniezno, Teatr Dramatyczny in Jelenia Góra).

As director of „Kubuś” Theater he initiated, among others, the Hurra! ART! Holiday Festival of Art for Children and Young People in Kielce, the Animatus International Theatrical Puppet Doll Competition and many other projects.

Winner of prizes and distinctions, incl. Belgian Minister of Culture Prize, Bialystok Presidential Prize, Minister of Culture Prize for Exceptional Children’s Cultural Creatives in the field of theatrical arts (2015). His shows which have received awards include „Mikrokosmos. Kompozycje” (Grand Prix at he Korczak Festival), „Sklepy cynamonowe”, „Wodna opowieść”.

Contact

Switchboard / Information
tel.: 22 845 16 76/77
info@teatrguliwer.pl
Box Office
tel.: 22 845 16 76/77 int. 121
Director
Robert Drobniuch
r.drobniuch@teatrguliwer.pl
Deputy Director
Monika Kulesza
m.kulesza@teatrguliwer.pl
Audience Organization Specialist / Group reservations
Anna Miller
organizacja@teatrguliwer.pl
tel.: 882 561 678
Comunication, Promotion and Audience Development Manager
Agnieszka Evans
promocja@teatrguliwer.pl
tel.: 882 463 186
Graphic designer
Julka Juzyk
grafika@teatrguliwer.pl
Technical Department Manager
Marta Zając-Bar
techniczny@teatrguliwer.pl
tel.: 606 234 704
Chief Specialist for human resources and accounts
Grażyna Śliwa
g.sliwa@teatrguliwer.pl
tel.: 539 695 959
Administrative Manager
Ewa Husarzewska
e.husarzewska@teatrguliwer.pl
Personal data inspector
Łukasz Kowalkowski
info@teatrguliwer.pl
tel.: (22) 845 16 76