We may no longer have bricks, walls, or ceilings – but stories don’t end. They live as long as we remember them.
Who else will tell the story of Father Cieciora? Who’ll dance to DJ Nowak’s music? Who will recall the plays written by former residents?
— Spirit of the Beginning, “Once Upon a Time in Glutendorf”

We need theatre here – a stage from which new words can be spoken, words unknown, anticipated, urgent – words about today’s world, burning issues. Are we to wait for great rural dramatists? We won’t wait. We aren’t waiting!
— Zofia Solarzowa, Theatre from the Mind

Poznań, Główna, early 20th century. It’s February, maybe the end of March. The First Holy Communion is approaching, and the Polish Catholic Workers’ Society wants to raise funds for the event. A play called The Bailiff-Poet is staged in the small hall at 38 Główna Street. The audience gathers in a brick building rumored to have once been an Evangelical church. The actors perform on a stage that was once the chancel; the balcony with its pillars and railing used to be a choir loft.

Fast forward to 2022. A post appears in a Facebook group for buying and selling salvaged materials: “Prussian brick from the 19th century – excellent condition – free.” The photo shows a building with neo-Gothic windows and half-timbered walls. Someone recognizes it: it’s the former theatre in Główna. A theatre that still appeared in the city’s heritage register, recognized by the National Heritage Institute for its historical and cultural value to the local community.

***

“Once Upon a Time in Glutendorf” revives the idea of a people’s theatre that thrived just a century ago in what was once the village of Główna, and later a district of Poznań. It was a place for entertainment and gathering – home to local organizations like the Sokół Gymnastics Society, the Young Polish Women’s Circle, and local choirs. It was a shared space, created by the people, for the people – the residents themselves prepared and performed in the plays, shaping both their content and form.

Theatre on Główna was always socially engaged – a tool for community support and a voice in issues that mattered most to those who lived there.

More than a century later, that spirit of voluntary, collective creation returns. The script of “Once Upon a Time in Glutendorf” was co-written by participants of a community-based playwriting workshop. The cast includes residents of Główna selected through an open call. The action takes place inside a historic Jelcz bus, turned into a time machine traveling through the district’s layered history. Its passengers include ghosts of the past and symbols of the present: workers heading to the morning shift, local promoter DJ Nowak, a Polonia football club fan, a beaver from the Główna river, and a real estate investor “specializing” in gentrification.

The performance draws on archival materials – photographs, reviews, and documents shared by the Municipal Heritage Office – and interviews with longtime residents. Workshop participants also explored historical sites such as the Karlsbunne Colony on Gnieźnieńska Street.

The theatre building is gone. Years of neglect by its private owner, who was legally responsible for preserving it, led to the decision to demolish it. But – to paraphrase a character from the play – does the theatre’s story truly end when only the bricks and mortar are gone?

“Once Upon a Time in Glutendorf”  is not just a nostalgic tribute. It’s an artistic act of reclaiming history, identity, and place. It raises timely questions: Why revisit the idea of people’s theatre today? Why remember local stories and landmarks? This production is a call for community storytelling – about memory, self-organized spaces, and the socio-political changes shaping the district today. The legacy of the people’s theatre on Główna lives on as long as its residents are willing to organize and act — culturally, socially, and politically.

Additional performances will be held on June 15 and 19. Details and information on free tickets are available at: https://www.fyrtelglowna.pl/dawno-temu-w-glutendorfie.
Free tickets for the event as part of Malta Festival will be available for collection at the festival office at al. Marcinkowskiego 28 from June 19 to June 22.
The number of tickets is limited.

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund and from the budget of the City of Poznań.
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