{{Short description|Polish cabaret}} [[File:Zenon laskowik.jpg|150px|thumb|Zenon Laskowik]] [[File:Bohdan Smolen.JPG|150px|thumb|Bohdan Smoleń]] '''Kabaret Tey''' was one of the most popular Polish cabarets in the 1970s and 1980s.
The word "tey" means "you" in the Poznań dialect.<ref name=hitoria/>
==History== Founded in the mid-1960s as ''Klops'' by {{ill|Zenon Laskowik|pl}}, Krzysztof Jaślar and Aleksander Gołębiowski, on 17 September 1971 it changed its name to ''Kabaret Tey''.<ref name=poznan>{{cite web|url=http://www.poznan.pl/mim/kultura/news/historia,c,8/w-pierwszej-kolejnosci-poza-kolejnoscia,46191.html |title=W pierwszej kolejności poza kolejnością :: Historia - Kultura |publisher=Poznan.pl |date=2011-08-20 |accessdate=2012-06-15}}</ref><ref name=gw/> Popular performers included Bohdan Smoleń (joined in 1977),<ref name=gw/> Jadwiga Żywczak<ref name=gw/> Marian Pogasz,<ref name=gw/> Rudi Schuberth<ref name=gw/> Janusz Rewiński,<ref name=gw/> Grażyna Łobaszewska,<ref name=gw/> Zbigniew Górny,<ref name=gw/> Zbigniew Wodecki<ref name=gw/> and Małgorzata Ostrowska,<ref name=gw/> with music written by Włodzimierz Korcz (author of ''Żeby Polska była Polską'', the informal anthem of ''Solidarity'').<ref name=ipn2008>[http://www.ipn.gov.pl/download.php?s=1&id=13374 "Prawda w żartach zawarta."] Interview with Jan Pietrzak by Patrycja Gruszyńska-Ruman. Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej Nr 7 (90) lipiec 2008, ISSN 1641-9561, p. 16-17. Retrieved June 14, 2012. {{in lang|pl}}</ref><ref name=bib>{{cite web|url=http://www.bibliotekapiosenki.pl/Zeby_Polska_byla_Polska |title=Biblioteka Polskiej Piosenki |publisher=Bibliotekapiosenki.pl |date=2011-11-28 |accessdate=2012-06-13}}</ref><ref name=tvp>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvp.pl/rozrywka/festiwale-i-koncerty/opole/z-archiwum-opola/opole-1981-19-festiwal/132873 |title=Opole 1981 - 19 Festiwal - Telewizja Polska SA |publisher=Tvp.pl |date= |accessdate=2012-06-13}}</ref> The most popular of these were Laskowik and Smoleń, who often performed as a team.<ref name=gw/>
The cabaret style relied heavily on improvisation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kabarettey.republika.pl/artykul4.html |title=Kabaret Tey - artykuły |publisher=Kabarettey.republika.pl |date= |accessdate=2012-06-15 |archive-date=2007-02-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222223830/http://www.kabarettey.republika.pl/artykul4.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Its first significant award was the satirical ''Szpilki'' magazine's ''Opolska {{ill|Złota Szpilka|pl}}'' (the Opole Golden Pin) award at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole in 1973 in the "Best Kabaret" category.<ref>[https://kultura.onet.pl/wywiady-i-artykuly/rozsmieszali-polske-kiedy-smiac-sie-bylo-trudno-czyli-kabarety-prl-u/75l6yk0 Rozśmieszali Polskę, kiedy śmiać się było trudno, czyli kabarety PRL-u], August 21, 2023</ref> This award also did much to popularize the cabaret.<ref name=hitoria>{{cite web |url=http://kabarettey.republika.pl/krotkah.html |title=Kabaret "Tey" |publisher=Kabarettey.republika.pl |date= |accessdate=2012-06-15 |archive-date=2012-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729231401/http://kabarettey.republika.pl/krotkah.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=gw/> From 1977 the group worked with Polish national television (Telewizja Polska).<ref name=hitoria/> As the communist system of the People's Republic of Poland began to wind down, so did Kabaret Tey, whose career was very much built on parodying the existing political system and communist reality.<ref name=poznan/><ref name=gw/> The group had another successful performance in Opole in 1980, and toured both Poland and some other countries.<ref name=hitoria/> In 1984 it changed its name to Teyatr.<ref name=dziennik>{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.dziennik.com/wiadomosci/artykul/laskowik-po-22-latach-znow-zagra-dla-polonii |title=Laskowik po 22 latach znów zagra dla Polonii - Nowy Dziennik - Polish Daily News - wydarzenia, informacje, wiadomości |publisher=Dziennik.com |date= |accessdate=2012-06-15}}</ref> Its last performance in Poland took place in 1987 and the last performance for Polonia (Polish diaspora in the United States and Canada) took place in 1988.<ref name=dziennik/>
==Reception== Kabaret Tey was one of the most popular Polish cabarets in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name=poznan/><ref name=gw/> Its fame was such that in the mid-1980s, it became one of the main icons associated with Poznań, and some of the jokes and phrases coined in it have entered the Polish language and culture.<ref name=gw>{{cite web|url=http://poznan.gazeta.pl/poznan/1,36037,10303705,Trzy_sa_dobre__czyli_niezly_kabaret__Tey__Od_40_lat.html |title=Trzy są dobre, czyli niezły kabaret, Tey. Od 40 lat |publisher=Poznan.gazeta.pl |date= |accessdate=2012-06-15}}</ref>
The group texts became more political in the aftermath of the rise of Solidarity and introduction of the martial law in Poland in 1981.<ref name=gw/>
== Performers ==
=== Artists === * Zenon Laskowik * Krzysztof Jaślar * Aleksander Maria Gołębiowski * Janusz Rewiński * Bohdan Smoleń * Rudi Schuberth * Zbigniew Górny
=== Associates === * Krystyna Tkacz * Grzegorz Warchoł * Zbigniew Wodecki * Barbara Gołaska * Tadeusz Osipowicz * Jerzy Garniewicz * Wojciech Michalski * Jerzy Banaś * Grażyna Łobaszewska * Małgorzata Ostrowska * Józef Zembrzuski – "Żużu" * Marian Pogasz * Michał Grudziński * Piotr Sowiński * Tadeusz Wojtych * Małgorzata Bratek * Jacek Różański * Aleksandra Jursza
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{in lang|pl}} [https://kabarettey.pl/ Kabaret Tey - Official page ] * {{in lang|pl}} [http://republika.pl/kabarettey/ Kabaret Tey - fan page]
{{Authority control}}
Category:Polish cabarets Category:1971 establishments in Poland Category:1988 disestablishments in Poland Category:Performing groups established in 1971