Between Encounter and Change of Reality, between Participation and Emancipation: Conversation about Challenges Facing Social Theatre

The discussion that follows was recorded on 28 November 2015 at the Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute in Warsaw. The occasion was the conclusion of the ‘Pop-Up’ project prepared by Agata Siwiak and Grzegorz Niziolek – an anti-theatrical installation where often-ephemeral actions took place in a purpose-built tent, located on the campus of the University of Economics in Krakow, in the public space of the city. The project lasted from 17 October to 15 November 2015. An important current presented within its framework involved artistic practices focused on interaction with various communities including Polish Roma ( Romville , directed by Elzbieta Depta, performed by Martyna Peszko and others), children from the orphanage in Szamocin ( Stay, Stay , directed by Michal Borczuch, performed by Krzysztof Zarzecki and others), and the Polish-Ukrainian community of Volhynia ( Swarka , directed by Katarzyna Szyngiera, co-written with Michal Wlekly, performed by Martyna Peszko and others). These productions constitute the starting point for this discussion – with the event in the public space of Krakow entitled Spleen, organized as part of ‘Pop-Up’ by Wiktor Rubin and Jolanta Janiczak. These works are important to Polish social theatre in recent years. This conversation had the goal of outlining broader perspectives of this current of artistic practice in Poland, therefore along with these ventures the panellists reference the three-year project ‘Wielkopolska: Revolutions’ (developed by Agata Siwiak in villages of western Poland), in which artists mentioned above had taken part, along with Agnieszka Jakimiak, who participated in the discussion and who collaborates with director Weronika Szczawinska. Another endeavour that is discussed is the anthropological-artistic project ‘Prologue’ carried out by the Kolektyw Terenowy (The Field Collective) under the supervision of Tomasz Rakowski in Broniow and Ostalowek, villages in central Poland. The discussion also touches upon Dorota Ogrodzka’s project Brides, produced as part of ‘Prologue’ (see Dorota Ogrodzka’s article in this issue of PTJ). Tomasz Rakowski also cites the action Tears Purchase by visual artists Łukasz Surowiec and Alicja Rogalska, carried out in Lublin as part of activities of the Socially Engaged Art Laboratory ‘Rewiry’, led by Szymon Pietrasiewicz. These projects, of course, do not exhaust the subject of community-work oriented art or social theatre in Poland at present. The subject is complemented by focuses on other ventures which are discussed in articles published in this issue of Polish Theatre Journal. Meanwhile, problems outlined in this discussion seem to lie at the centre of current reflections on the place of art in emancipatory social activities in Poland; conclusions drawn from it also apply to problems and phenomena discussed in other articles in the present issue, focussed upon productions, actions and performances in the field of social culture.