THE DECLINE OF THE REPUBLIC. Directing

We live in the era of the decline of the republic. Great tales of freedom have lost their former power. Authorities have been knocked off pedestals, and new ones are not visible. Specters of radicalism are hovering above our heads, and reality eludes simple diagnoses. These are times of extreme polarization and obsession with ambiguity, in which not only democratic institutions but also the languages with which we have described the world are shaken. Along with them, the formula of political theater, which made unambiguous interventions from the stage, was also exhausted. Has the theatre lost its purpose? Or is a new model of engagement being born today?

THE DECLINE OF THE REPUBLIC. Directing

What role does a director play in a world that is not subject to simple diagnoses? Should the performance take a stand, be an aesthetic commentary, or should it rather open up a space for dispute and interpretation?

The directorial debate “The Decline of the Republic” will be an attempt to answer the question of whether and what kind of politicality the theater needs today; an admonition to define a theater of new politics—bold, but not dogmatic; critical, but not mentorical; aware that the responsibility of the creator does not end with expressing his own reason, but begins in an encounter with the viewer.

The directorial debate will take place on 17 October at 2 p.m. in the Krysłowa Restaurant. Admission is free.

The motto of this year's INTERPRETATIONS are the words of Konrad Swinarski: “Truth is in between”. Perhaps it is precisely there — between the stage and the audience, between the creator and the receiver, between conflicting experiences — that a new agency of theatre is born today.