30th International Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival

23 July – 2 August 2026
This year’s theme – In Praise of Madness – is a tribute to Professor Jerzy Limon, the visionary and founder of the Festival, whose dream of rebuilding an Elizabethan theatre in Gdańsk continues to inspire artists and audiences from around the world.

The 30th edition of the International Shakespeare Festival will be a celebration rich in meaning – a symbolic culmination of three decades of artistic exploration and a return to the very roots of the vision that initiated the entire project.The Shakespeare Festival was established in 1997, preceded by the Shakespeare Days, which aimed to promote the idea of constructing a Shakespeare Theatre. In time, they themselves became one of the most exciting summer cultural events in Poland. The Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre was eventually opened in 2014.

In Praise of Madness also refers to the extraordinary determination of Professor Jerzy Limon – a dreamer and visionary whose faith, perseverance and imagination led not only to the creation of the Festival, but also to the reconstruction of the Shakespeare Theatre on the very site where it had stood four centuries earlier.

It was this furor divinus – the professor’s creative madness – that became the driving force behind our institution and the Shakespeare Festival. In this anniversary year, we wish to return to that spirit, honour it, and inspire future generations. The programme will feature outstanding theatre alongside a vibrant range of lively, festive accompanying events.

In Shakespeare’s works, the sacred intertwines with the profane – and this is precisely how we envision the 30th edition of our Festival.

Thursday, 23 July 2026
19:00 – In Praise of Madness – Festival Opening Ceremony
Director: Mariusz Babicki | 90 min | No age limit | GTS¹
21:00 – Opening of the Festival Photography Exhibition by Dawid Linkowski
30 min | No age limit | GTS

Friday, 24 July 2026
17:00 & 20:00 – Will You Go Out With Me?
Director: Ewa Platt | 60 min | 16+ | Klub Żak
Inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Love’s Labour’s Lost, this performance places Shakespearean stories in a brutally contemporary setting, where declarations of love become tools of humiliation and responsibility for harm is blurred.
19:00 – The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (in Silesian)
Director: Robert Talarczyk | Silesian Theatre, Katowice
3h (with intermission) | No age limit | Wybrzeże Theatre
A bold and visceral production about power and revenge, presented for the first time entirely in the Silesian language.

Saturday, 25 July 2026
11:00–13:00 – Floristry Workshop: Ophelia’s Garland
60 min | 12+ | GTS
13:00 – Festival Cinema: Hamnet (dir. Chloé Zhao)
125 min | Kameralne Cinema Café
13:00 [EN], 15:00, 17:00, 19:00, 21:00 – All the World’s a Stage
Director: Robert Traczyk | 45–60 min | 12+ | Window Theatre [SZO]
An innovative blend of escape room and immersive theatre—solve puzzles and uncover a story of betrayal and madness.
16:00–17:30 – Jerzy Limon and His Festivals – 30 Years of the Festival
90 min | No age limit | GTS
17:00 & 21:00 – Hey Hamlet
Director: Aniela Płudowska | 60 min | No age limit | Malarnia [NY]
A post-AI reinterpretation exploring identity, artificial narratives and truth.
19:00 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Director: Paweł Chomczyk | Divadlo Radost (Czechia)
90 min | 13+ | GTS S
22:00–03:00 – Silent Disco with Radio Nowy Świat
GTS Courtyard

Sunday, 26 July 2026
11:00–12:30 – Morning Talks on Performances
Prof. Limon Library
13:00–21:00 – All the World’s a Stage (multiple showings)
13:00 – Festival Cinema: Throne of Blood
110 min
14:00 – Macbeth (film of performative reading)
Dir. Paweł Ziemiński | 120 min | GTS
16:00 & 20:00 – Lady Becomes Macbeth
70 min | 16+ | Klub Żak [SZO]
A late-night show format exploring gender, power, and identity.

Monday, 27 July 2026
13:00–21:00 – All the World’s a Stage (multiple showings)
17:00 & 21:00 – Julius Caesar
Director: Kuba Zubrzycki | 60 min | Malarnia [NY]
Politics as spectacle in a contemporary TV studio setting.
19:00 – Hamlet
Director: Jacek Jabrzyk | 150 min | 16+ | GTS [ZY] S
A visually striking production exploring loneliness in the digital age.

Tuesday, 28 July 2026
13:00–21:00 – All the World’s a Stage
17:00 & 20:00 – Sensitive Richard III
Director: Paweł Palcat | 70 min | Klub Żak
A psychological monodrama about narcissism and rejection.
19:00 / 20:30 / 22:00 – Night Theatre Tours with Puck
90 min | GTS
20:00 – Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (Dance)
Robert Lepage, Guillaume Côté | Canada
100 min | Wybrzeże Theatre

Wednesday, 29 July 2026
18:00 – Hamlet Prince of Denmark (Dance)
Robert Lepage, Guillaume Côté | Canada
100 min | Wybrzeże Theatre
18:00 – Shakespeare Feast (theatre & culinary event)
2h 15 min | Piwnica Rajców
18:30 – Petty Men
Julia Levai | UK | 70 min | 14+ | Stara Apteka
20:30 – King Lear
Director: Silviu Purcărete | Romania
140 min | GTS

Thursday, 30 July 2026
11:00–12:30 – Morning Talks
16:00 & 20:00 – Hamlet. Prince of Denmark
Directors: Jacek Głomb & Krzysztof Kopka
135 min | 15+ | B90
17:00 – Petty Men
17:00 & 20:00 – Romeo and Juliet
60 min | Malarnia
19:00 – King Lear Director: Silviu Purcărete | Romania
140 min | GTS

Friday, 31 July 2026
17:00 & 21:00 – Julius Caesar: Calpurnia’s Dream
80 min | 13+ | Klub Żak
17:00 – Book Launch:
Shakespeare: Seven Deadly Sins by Prof. Jerzy Limon
90 min | GTS
19:00 – Mural Unveiling:
In Praise of Madness – 30 Years of the Festival

Saturday, 1 August 2026
11:00–12:30 – Morning Talks
13:00 – Festival Cinema: Hamnet
15:45–17:00 – Post-screening Discussion
18:00 – Hamlet (Teatr Powszechny, Warsaw)
200 min (with intermission) | 16+ | Wybrzeże Theatre
18:00 – Romeo and Juliet (Flamenco Ballet, Spain)
90 min | GTS S

Sunday, 2 August 2026
13:00 – Festival Cinema: No One’s Fury (dir. Burhan Qurbani)
14:00 – Much Ado About Nothing
Community Performative Reading (in English) | 90 min | GTS
17:00 – Romeo and Juliet (dance)
19:30 – Festival Closing Gala & Awards Ceremony

Full Programme is available on www.festiwalszekspirowski.pl