This historic theatre in the centre of the Nowa Huta socialist housing estate was designed by Edmund Dąbrowski and Janusz Ingarden, and opened in 1955, just as the official policy of socialist realism came to an end in PL. Despite the name, Teatr Ludowy quickly developed a reputation as one of the most avant-garde theatres in Poland, thanks to participation by visionary painter and set designer Jozef Szajna, and revolutionary theatre director Tadeusz Kantor. Though its clout waned in the 70s and 80s as the political climate worsened, Teatr Ludowy has enjoyed a revival since the Soviet Union fell and is today back to its award-winning ways.