Cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret in Kraków and Lesser Poland: over 180 shows in clubs, cellars and community centres, including Pub 103,8 FM and Klub Buda.
You will find both stand-up and classic cabaret groups with new programmes. Most shows are in Kraków, but a lot happens in Tarnów, Nowy Targ, Oświęcim, Wieliczka and Myślenice too, so you do not have to travel to a big city to see a cabaret.
In Kraków cabaret is mostly a club affair: Pub 103,8 FM has 19 shows in the calendar, Klub Buda 13, Nowohuckie Centrum Kultury 9 and Klub Kwadrat 8. Klub Akademicki ARKA and Forum Horyzonty have five each. Kraków itself has over 70 events, which is enough for several evenings a week, not only at weekends.
Clubs and pubs are informal: tables, a bar and an audience that reacts on the spot. They suit stand-up and cabaret in which performers joke with the audience. Nowohuckie Centrum Kultury, in turn, is a hall similar to a community centre, with rows of seats, where the programme is easier to hear from further back. Forum Horyzonty offers a modern stage in the centre, handy for an outing after work.
Stand-up is one performer telling their own stories for an hour or more; cabaret is usually several people, sketches and songs. This category has both kinds, often with the words "new programme" in the title, which means the performer is back with fresh material.
If you do not know the performer, start with a programme described as "new", because such shows usually do not assume you know earlier sketches. Older programmes return to the stage more often than you might think, so do not skip an event just because the title means nothing to you.
No. More than 100 events take place outside Kraków, and the most are in Tarnów: Piwnica Przepraszam has 12 shows there and Centrum Sztuki Mościce a few more. The Piwnica is an atmospheric, intimate room where the audience sits close to the stage and it is hard to remain a passive viewer. Mościce is a large cultural centre that hosts bigger acts.
In Nowy Targ cabaret is staged by the Municipal Culture Centre and Pub Plama, in Myślenice by the Myślenice Centre of Culture and Sport, and in Oświęcim by the Oświęcim Culture Centre, Pub Vinyl and the Kastel banquet hall. Wieliczka has Kampus Wielicki, the Solne Miasto arena and the Wieliczka Media Library. In Brzesko cabaret happens at Restauracja RZYM, and in Miechów, Chełm, Olkusz, Libiąż, Limanowa, Wolbrom, Andrychów and Proszowice at local culture centres. Residents of those towns do not have to go to Kraków to see well-known performers.
If you live in Tarnów, look at Piwnica Przepraszam, Mościce and the music school hall. In Nowy Sącz you will find cabaret at the Municipal Culture Centre and at the Spóźniony Słowik venue. In the Sądecczyzna region and Podhale it is also worth checking the culture centres in Nowy Targ, Limanowa and Sucha Beskidzka, where the Billy Wilder Centre of Culture and Film operates.
Many of these events look like a touring show: the same programme returns in several towns over a few weeks. So if a performer does not play in your town, check the neighbouring ones, which are often an hour away. For a full picture of the region, see the events calendar or plan the evening together with live music and theatre.
Arrive a quarter of an hour early, especially at clubs, where table seats are not always numbered. In pubs and restaurants such as Pub 103,8 FM, Pub Plama or Restauracja RZYM, cabaret often goes together with dinner, and the ticket covers entry only, so the meal is ordered separately.
Before you buy tickets, check whether the event is for adults only. Cabaret and stand-up can be blunt, and some programmes carry an age limit. For an outing with children choose events for children or family shows. Before the event, eat in one of the places in the restaurants section, particularly if the venue is in the centre, and afterwards you can drop into a venue from the list of places with character.
For a date, pick stand-up in a club with a small room: shared laughter brings people closer, and the shorter format does not tire anyone. For a group of friends or colleagues, cabaret programmes in a bigger hall work well, because it is easier to sit together and the sketches give you something to talk about. If you like well-written material, look for events with a programme name in the title, a sign that the performer has a coherent story rather than loose jokes.
A cabaret evening can also be combined with another event the same day. Those who like music can start with a concert and finish at a club that stages cabaret. Those who prefer high culture will find proposals for an earlier hour among cultural venues and theatres.
It depends on how you like to have fun. In the front rows performers most often engage with viewers: they ask your name, your job, where you came from, and joke about the answers. If you do not want to be in the spotlight, sit in the middle of the hall or at side tables, where you hear and see everything and the risk of being asked is smaller. In clubs with a small stage the difference is slight, so even a table at the back may pull you into a joke.
In community centres with rows of chairs, the middle rows are best: the whole stage is visible and the sound arrives evenly. Older people and anyone with hearing difficulties should sit closer, because the sound system in some halls is weaker, and stand-up without a clear voice loses half the joke.
Start with the title and description. A programme with its own name, such as a slogan or a premiere title, usually means a coherent whole, not a set of loose jokes. If the title contains a performer's name and the word "stand-up", you know what to expect: one person, an hour of humour. If you see the name of a troupe, you can count on sketches and songs.
It is also worth noticing where the performer plays. A show in a small club usually means close contact and a relaxed atmosphere, while one in a community centre is more likely a tidy programme with an interval. If you cannot decide, choose an event close to home so that the journey back after the evening is not an expedition.
A cabaret usually ends around ten in the evening, and in smaller towns public transport after that hour is limited. Before you buy a ticket for a show outside Kraków, check how you will get back: the last bus or train, a taxi, a place to stay. In Kraków after an evening in a club you can use night transport or a taxi, but here too it pays to know the times.
If several of you are going, agree who will drive and not drink before you enter the club. In pubs and restaurants where cabaret comes with dinner, alcohol is part of the evening, so it is worth settling the journey home beforehand rather than after the show. People from nearby towns may consider staying overnight in Kraków, especially for shows that finish late.
For well-known performers and small rooms, definitely, because there are few seats and they go fast. A cellar, a club or a pub usually holds a few dozen people. Larger halls, such as community centres, have more room, but the best seats vanish first. For lesser-known performers you can buy tickets on the day, though it is worth checking availability earlier.
If the show is in a town you are visiting, combine it with sightseeing. In Tarnów, Nowy Sącz or Oświęcim you can see the historic sites before the evening and have lunch in the afternoon, because an evening cabaret usually starts after six.
Pub 103,8 FM has the most shows, followed by Klub Buda, Nowohuckie Centrum Kultury and Klub Kwadrat. All are easy to reach by public transport. The choice depends on whether you prefer a club or a hall with rows of seats.
Stand-up is a performance by one person telling their own stories; cabaret is usually several people, sketches, songs and costumes. Both kinds appear in this category. If you are unsure, choose stand-up for a first time, because it is easier to judge after a few minutes.
Yes. More than half of the shows take place outside Kraków, most of them in Tarnów, Nowy Targ, Oświęcim, Wieliczka and Myślenice. Many are the same programme returning in several towns of the region.
It depends on the programme and the organiser. Many events have an age limit because the humour can be blunt. The information is in the event description, and children are better taken to family events.
Stand-up usually lasts from about an hour to an hour and a half, and a cabaret with an interval can run longer. The organiser gives the exact time, and in clubs you should add time to enter and find a table.
In most clubs and pubs you can order food on the spot, but at community centres it is better to eat beforehand. You will find places near the centre in the section on restaurants and milk bars.
