On the Royal Stage. Stanisław August's Theatrical Canon

Mind the dates: this one in the Old Orangery closes on 6 September 2026. Only a few days left.

The Royal Łazienki Museum on the exhibition:

Get to know the world of theatre through costumes and props, set designs and production photographs. The new display in the Old Orangery recalls the plays of four famous dramatists - Sophocles, Molière, Racine and Shakespeare - which formed King Stanisław August’s theatrical canon.

The display explores the theatrical interests and literary tastes of Poland’s last king, centred on the stage works of Sophocles, Molière, Racine and Shakespeare. Stanisław August’s fascination with their work is reflected, among other things, in the original painted decoration of the Royal Theatre in the Old Orangery. Its author, Jan Bogumił Plersch, immortalised the dramatists’ profiles on the ceiling. The Royal Theatre was - alongside the Little Theatre and the Amphitheatre - one of three theatre stages in the Royal Łazienki.

On view are objects from the Theatre Museum. Costumes and props, set designs, photographs and mementoes from various periods recall selected Polish productions of plays by these outstanding dramatists, among them “Britannicus”, “The Imaginary Invalid”, “Phèdre”, “Hamlet”, “Oedipus Rex”, “Measure for Measure” and “Richard III”.

The display is produced by the Theatre Museum in cooperation with the Royal Łazienki. The undertaking is part of the inauguration of the Amphitheatre after its comprehensive conservation works.

What to expect

The exhibition is in the Old Orangery, the same building as the Royal Theatre - and Plersch’s ceiling with portraits of those same four dramatists is right overhead, so the show and the room explain each other. The museum gives the hours as Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00-17:00, Thursday-Friday 10:00-18:00, Saturday 12:00-20:00, Sunday 10:00-16:00; last entry 30 minutes before closing. Admission is covered by the single combined ticket to the buildings. The objects come from the Theatre Museum.

Tickets and opening hours are on the museum’s website.

Museum profile: Royal Łazienki Museum.