As the 2025–2026 artistic season began, TR Warszawa Young Theatre Council launched its activities – an innovative initiative for young people passionate about theatre. It invites them to take an active role in the life of a cultural institution and to help shape its educational and artistic programme. As the first theatre in Warsaw to do so, we established an advisory body composed entirely of representatives of the younger generation. Our aim is to make the theatre a space for the safe exchange of ideas, intergenerational dialogue, and collaborative action.
The TR Warszawa Young Theatre Council was created to give young people a platform to express their opinions and share their ideas. Council members have the opportunity to gain insight into how a cultural institution operates while developing their own interests, knowledge, and skills.
Members of the 1st Term of the TR Warszawa Young Theatre Council (2025/2026): Gabriela Bednarczyk, Katia Ganuszewicz, Aleksander Kwiatkowski, Zuzanna Malarek, Jan Napiontek, Natalia Samsel, Małgorzata Sobieraj, Mati Socik, Zofia Stankiewicz, Anna Stolarska, Stefania Sural, Amelia Zyzek, Łucja Żurek.
The first year of the TR Warszawa Young Theatre Council is now behind us. What did we accomplish?
The Council’s first term officially began with an inaugural ceremony held on 18 October 2025. Over the following months, its members became actively involved in the life of the theatre by taking part in meetings with members of the TR Warszawa team, attending performances and educational events, and participating in a series of skills-development workshops.
The young participants also met with theatre professionals and experts, exploring a range of topics related to contemporary theatre. These workshops were designed not only to familiarise them with the workings of the institution but also to equip them with practical tools and competencies, enabling them to develop and carry out their own initiative.
These included:
- Project development workshops
- Documentary theatre workshops
- Dramaturgy workshops
- Choreography workshops
- Archive-based research workshops
An important part of the Young Theatre Council’s activities involved study visits, attending performances together, and participating in consultation meetings. For us, conversations with young people about their needs, as well as their feedback on the theatre’s programme and the way the institution operates, have been an invaluable source of insight. Equally important have been meetings focused on integrating youth-led initiatives into the theatre’s activities.
During the first part of the year, these meetings centred on discussing opportunities and developing potential ideas. This was followed by the Council’s first attempts at creating content for the theatre’s social media channels, including recording interviews with artists, theatre-makers, and performers. In the following stage, the young participants worked on developing and producing their own event, inspired by and responding to TR Warszawa’s artistic programme for the season.
On 20 June 2026 at 5:00 pm, the TR Warszawa Young Theatre Council presented the performative reading Possibility of a Dune on the theatre’s Small Stage. Conceived and produced entirely by the Council, the event brought together a collage of texts and archival materials from the theatre’s collection, forming an artistic reflection on the institution’s history and the role of young people within it. The project offered a thoughtful exploration of the relationship between memory, place, and youth participation, while demonstrating the Council members’ creativity, initiative, and ability to develop and deliver an original artistic work.
photos from performative reading
Project funding sources:
- Poland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (KPO);
- “Włącznik – Creating Space for Young People in Warsaw’s Municipal Institutions”, implemented as part of the Warsaw Youth Policy;
- Ochotnicy Warszawscy (Warsaw Volunteers) – funding provided through the Volunteer Development Programme in the Theatres of the City of Warsaw.
