Ugly Duckling

A performance based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

The theatrical performance Ugly Duckling based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen directed by Bartosz Kurowski is aimed at the viewer from the 6th year. It represents a reliable and at times very entertaining transfer to the stage of popular history framed in the convention of the theater of form — dolls and masks. The colorful and exaggerated forms draw the attention of the audience, while the dialogues direct it to the important issues that Hans Christian Andersen brings to children — these are the categories of tolerance and acceptance, as well as the right to respect and to seek one's own way and place for oneself.

The production is realized as part of the National Competition “Sensitive Culture” — people with alternative motor skills, people with intellectual disabilities and neurodiverse people were invited to the group of authors of the theatrical performance. Together with the actors of the Pinocchio Theatre in Łódź, they introduce a new value and quality to the performing arts aimed at the youngest and adolescent audience, opening them to new ways of perceiving and understanding theatre. The inseparable elements of the theatrical performance are audio description, translation into Polish Sign Language and simple language.

The play includes a quote from Witold Gombrowicz's “Iwona, Princesses of Burgundy”, 1985.

As part of the investment activities for the project “Ugly Duckling. Activities of the Pinocchio Theater in Łódź inviting people with special needs to unfold their wings” an induction loop was purchased.