This new name-challenged museum in the basements of the Stary Teatr (Old Theatre) presents the theatre's achievements through a digital archive, pays homage to theatre as a Polish cultural institution, and allows visitors to experience some of the technical aspects of theatrical production. Certainly the most high tech museum in Kraków, the whole experience is conducted through interactive apps, touch-screen displays, tablets and other digital exhibits. Your interest in the museum will depend entirely on your willingness to participate in its tech-savvy displays, and your visit necessarily begins with a guide showing you around and explaining how to interact with the exhibits. Using apps at various stations you can compose your own music for a production, change the lighting, sound and music on a stage, or explore a 'virtual dressing room' that acquaints you with iconic stage costumes. Perhaps the most challenging is a private room where you're encouraged to record a video of yourself taking on a role, which you can then email to yourself. Impressively designed and entirely in English, quite a lot of money was spent on this, from the tablets and Beats headphones to the loads of programming, and a technician is actually on-hand to keep it working smoothly. White, minimal and devoid of objects, it's all quite soulless considering the subject, and certainly not to all tastes (we saw several couples walk in, get the tour, and then walk right out). But we know of nothing comparable, and for aspiring actors, technicians, set and costume designers and general lovers of theatre, there are probably few things better.
*Note that the museum is closed every August.
Average visiting time: 90mins.
*Note that the museum is closed every August.
Average visiting time: 90mins.
