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Warsaw’s theater scene is no Broadway or West End. The theaters are generally small, under-patronized and scattered throughout the city.

Yet the theater industry has been undergoing a renaissance of sorts over the last few years, with new, private theaters being established by luminaries of the stage and screen. The most recent private venue to open is Teatr 6.piętro, an initiative by actor Michał Żebrowski, famous for his roles in “Pan Tadeusz,” “Wiedźmin” and “Horton Hears a Who” (dubbing). His theater will hold its inaugural premiere in March.

This trend of new private theaters arguably began with actress Krystyna Janda’s Teatr Polonia, a stage specializing in drama, which opened in 2006. Polonia, now a permanent fixture in Warsaw’s theater scene, proved such a success among theatergoers that the actress, or rather the foundation she established for the purpose, opened another theater – “Och-Teatr” – this January. Three other actors have opened their own theaters recently and a fourth venue is currently in the works.

Not play money

Running a theater, even a successful one, is a cost-intensive enterprise. The total costs incurred by Teatr Polonia last year amounted to around zł.8 million; revenues, meanwhile, were at approximately the same level.

“We perform two or three times a day. In 2009, we performed 700 times for a total of 195,000 theatergoers,” explained Roman Osadnik, the theater’s director. “Revenues from ticket sales constituted around 80 percent of all our revenues in 2009,” he continued, adding that ticket revenues more or less cover the costs of each day’s performances, including remuneration for actors and service staff, as well as royalties.

Private theaters in Poland are generally unable to support themselves on ticket sales alone, however. The tickets are relatively cheap and theaters are small – Polonia’s larger stage seats 266, while its smaller stage accommodates 150. Mr Żebrowski’s theater, located in the Palace of Culture and Science, has 500 seats.

“Finding financing for new productions is a problem,” said Emilian Kamiński, founder and director of Teatr Kamienica, which finally opened last March after seven years of struggle. In his case, preparing a premiere for the theater’s bigger stage costs at least zł.100,000, versus zł.60,000-70,000 for the smaller stage. The cheapest premiere at Polonia so far has cost zł.70,000, while the most expensive one, “Bagdad Cafe,” ran zł.350,000.

Public-private gap

Private theaters can apply for funding from the EU, the Ministry of Culture and the local authorities. But the gap between public and private is huge – approximately 70-80 percent of public theaters’ costs are covered by subsidies from the state and local governments. For example, according to a Ministry of Culture report, in 2008 Warsaw City Hall spread zł.2 million across 12 independent theaters and zł.91 million among 19 public theaters. Subsidies are granted on an annual or triennial basis and the city prefers foundations as partners.

“Some theaters can survive thanks to those grants and do not need to have audiences,” said Marcin Kwaśny, an actor currently working to open a theatrical venue called Teatr Praski. Renovation of the building was to begin this spring, but has been postponed due to bureaucratic hurdles.

Although they are increasing in number, private venues like Teatr Kamienica struggle for revenue Courtesy of Teatra Kamienica

“Every day we struggle for survival,” said Mr Kamiński. “The other sources of revenue help us finance our projects. I’ve worked too hard for this to be satisfied with plays prepared quickly,” he said.