The Baj Pomorski Theater - Theater in 1960-1990

Theater in 1960-1990

All the directors have left their ineffaceable expressions upon Toruń's puppet stage. It was when Stapf was the theater's acting director that the days of Baj Pomorski's artistic adolescence occurred. He was the one responsible for helping modernize the theater, making it into one of the best equipped stages in Poland; he displayed a premiere for adults (the first of its kind for the theater – a Polish preview puppet show of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream; he initiated the North Poland Puppet Theater Festival held in Toruń -- Pomerania's first event of this caliber.

During the Sixties, under Śmigielski's management, a further change was brought about in Baj Pomorski's image, from that of a traditional puppet stage to one of a theater seeking new forms of expression, open to Toruń's artistic life. It was during this time that the largest numbers of preview shows within the history of the theater were staged; ambitious spectacles (influenced by traditional folk theater) were created, and innovatory stage productions by contemporary regional authors were shown. The Club of Creative Circles Azyl, formed during that time, was a unique artistic phenomenon in Poland, making Baj Pomorski the center of cultural life and the venue for many a theatric initiative.

Thanks to Tadeusz Petrykowski the theater reanimated its cooperation with theater groups abroad, including those from the Czech Republic and Romania; it also increased its participation in Polish puppet festivals.

Konrad Szachnowski made his name in Baj's past by coming up with a modern concept for staging theatrical classics. His preview puppet show of Fernando de Rojas’ Celestine found its place in Polish puppet theater's historic lore by using an amazingly creative theatrical idea involving supermarionnette and trashy theater.

The eight years of Antoni Słociński's management resulted in the development of theatrical education programs for children; besides this the theater began to mark its presence at international festivals, with cooperation with German (mainly in Göttingen – one of Toruń's partner cities) and Czech theaters, growing stronger in the process.

The following directors – Krzysztof Arciszewski and Wojciech Olejnik – presumably continued to expand upon programs based upon previously developed images of the theater. An important modification introduced during that time was the transformation of the theater into an institution financed by the City of Toruń.