This spectacular modern staging of the Romantic drama, belonging to the very core of the traditional Polish theatre repertory, has been prepared for the 250^th anniversary of Teatr Narodowy. KORDIAN reflects the turbulent moment in the history of Poland, after the country had ultimately lost its independence in 1815, and the young generation faced the impossible dilemma: whether to die heroically in the name of the bygone sovereignty or to conform to the new rules.

Set in the Faustian mood and written in rhymed Polish alexandrines, the drama provides bitter analysis of the causes of the defeat, poses questions about the intrinsically Polish vices and the ways to overcome them, about the ways to preserve the Polish culture and political identity throughout the 19th Century. Through numerous citations, the present show dialogues also with the tradition of the Polish Romanticism on stage, alludes to historical events of the past two hundred years, and discusses the present state of the social and national consciousness.