Materiały dla nauczycieli

Excerpts from the speech given by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales on the 18th of May, 1993,
in Gdansk, Poland.

…But I did want to say how pleased and thrilled I am finally to have reached Poland, and in particular to have come to Gdaftsk. It`s something I have been going to do for many years and all I can say is that when Professor Limon came to see me in London… what was it?… two years ago?… He is a very convincing man… and he made a very convincing case for this theatre project here in Gdatsk, and I’m afraid being an incurable romantic, I fell for it at once… And consequently I agreed to become the patron and nothing can give me greater pleasure because I do think it is a wonderful, imaginative and exciting project, very likely to secceed. And with so many people here this evening, which I hope are just the beginning of the number of people that may be involved, there is a really good chance, I think, of making this project happen.
Now, I know that 5 million pounds seems a lot of money, and all I can say is, you may not believe it, but even in Britain 5 million pounds seems an awful lot… during the recession, but, with a good deal of enthusiasm and determination and with a good spirit of romantic excitement, I’m sure we can achieve it. I do think it would be wonderful to start again a new golden age for Gdańsk and in particular a golden age in terms of relations between Britain and Poland. It always has been a wonderful relationship between our two countries but this, I think, culture and this kind of project actually helps to cement these peaceful terms almost more than anything else. I believe that spiritual and cultural values that really matter to us as human beings, which should be the most likely things to enjoy, to see, and this is one of those sorts of projects.
I very much hope that when I next time come back to Gdańsk, I will indeed be able to witness some plays being performed in this theatre and I must say that the design is very exciting and it will be such fun trying to rebuild the theatre that was there before. And it will be particularly interesting and nice to see British actors and actresses performing here.
What is fascinating to me is to discover that in the 17th century it was British actors and actresses who were so famous throughout Europe. And I can’t exactly say what is it in English nature that produces good actors and actresses, but whatever it is, it seems to last. I am now the president of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Britain, which gives me enormous pride and pleasure and I hope… to get that company over here to help start your particular project get off the ground.
And all I can say is “well done” to professor Limon and also I must admit we owe a great deal of gratitude to Honorary Patrons, Sir Peter Hall and Andrzej Wajda… And obviously we’re going to make a great deal more to get the project off the ground with great deal of generosity.
Thank you for being here this evening and as I said before, when I come back, I hope that is before 1997, then what I’m sure I will see is the project completed. Thank you.