IN TWO POLISH LANGUAGES. MUSIC OF BODIES. RYTM | Culture Available

Deaf people can feel music

Deaf people can listen to music

Deaf people can sing

Deaf people can be creators of music

Singing expressed by vibrations of the vocal cords — Singing expressed by hand movements

Singing produced by acoustic waves — Singing produced by body expression

Music received through the organ of hearing — Music received through the skeletal system

A comparison of two perceptions of music perception.

A comparison of two ways of expressing oneself through music.

We invite you to the concert “In two Polish languages. Music of the Bodies. Rhythm” in Polish phonic language and Polish Sign Language performed by a team composed of hearing people and Deaf people consisting of:

Marta Andrzejczyk - singer, monodramist, sociocultural animator, actress of the White Theater in Olsztyn, theater teacher at the Olsztyn Puppet Theater Natalia Świniarska - actress, theater educator, artistic translator of PJM, creator of the Olsztyn Theater of the Deaf Aleksandra Lipska - actress of the Olsztyn Theater Małgorzata Mickiewicz — actress of the Deaf Theatre of Olsztyn, Polish Sign Language lecturer Piotr Banaszek — composer, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, film translator

The Olsztyn Theatre of the Deaf is a young form that was founded on the foundations of the history of the Olsztyn G/Deaf, namely the history of the Olsztyn Pantomime. Our group was created out of the need to continue the theatrical tradition of the Olsztyn G/deaf people and the need to speak with their own voice, about their own cause and on their own responsibility. We also wish to show the richness of G/Deaf culture, sign language and to point out the performative possibilities of visual-spatial form of communication. We are also committed to spreading knowledge about G/Deaf people, increasing public awareness of the deaf environment, increasing accessibility to cultural goods and equalizing opportunities. The theater currently has four performances and a concert in its repertoire. The first is the performance “My hands scream”, which is the voice of people belonging to the G/Deaf community, and premiered on May 25, 2023. The second play “Body Imaging” premiered at the Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Olsztyn on December 5, 2023. It was created in the Visual Vernacular technique, which, in connection with the movement form of expression, belongs to the environment of deaf creators. The next two performances are activities created in cooperation with actress, singer and theater teacher Marta Andrzejczyk: “Legends of Warmia” performens in the format of the Kamishibai theater with musical elements in phonic Polish and PJM (premiere at the Olsztyn Puppet Theater in 2025) and the musical performance “Szczera” in the theater formula stories in Polish phonic language and PJM (2025). The most recent activity is the concert “In two Polish languages. Music of the Bodies. Rytm” in Polish phonic language and PJM. Olsztyn's Deaf Theatre also conducts educational activities offering theatre workshops covering performative work with the body, gesture and sign language (including sign poetry, Visual Vernacular or singing in PJM): theatre workshops for an integrative group of hearing and deaf people as part of “Art without borders” at the Academic Centre for Artistic Initiatives in Łódź (2025), workshops on performative body work with sign language at the Węgajty Theatre (2025), the Cultural Centre Teatr in Grudziądz (2025) and the Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Theatre in Zakopane (2025) and lessons in sign language and Deaf culture at the Centre for Social Archivistics in Warsaw (2025). In addition, the Olsztyn Deaf Theater was a partner in organizing an exhibition dedicated to the achievements of the Olsztyńska Pantomime with workshops, discussion panels and a performance: “Olsztyn Pantomime through the Eyes of Deaf Actors” at the Amfilada Gallery in the Municipal Cultural Center in Olsztyn in 2025.

Trailer of the concert: