The leading figure in the project to construct the new theatre is Jerzy Limon,[1] a founder of the Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival.

[2] It was built by architect Renato Rizzi in the light of Limon's research which suggests that the Fencing School was modelled on the Fortune Playhouse in London.

[3] The excavations found remnants of timber posts dating from the 1630s, which according to Limon were the result of a documented renovation of the theatre in 1635.

[5] The Fencing School was replaced in the 1740s on the same site, or adjacent to it, by a new municipal theatre known as the Comedy House (Comoedienhaus).

In 2004 the Foundation initiated an architectural competition for the new theatre, won in January 2005 by Italian architect Renato Rizzi.

[1] In September 2009 the groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

[7] For 2014 only, the start of the Shakespeare Festival was moved from August to 27 September, to follow the theatre's opening week.

To the east of the tower is a lower block containing backstage areas, dressing rooms, accommodation and offices.

Though taking account of the discoveries regarding the earlier theatre, and similarly having three storeys of galleries, the playhouse is not an exact reproduction.