Join the Theatre Institute and the Divine Comedy Festival at the Bunkier Sztuki in Kraków on 7 December at 11:00 a.m. for a debate on the role of theatre producers in the theatre ecosystem over the last thirty years. Among other topics, we will discuss why contemporary theatre and the performing arts are in such great need of producers and the skills this new profession requires. Admission is free.
The discussion will begin with a presentation of the Theatre Institute’s report, Producers as Central Figures in the Theatre and Performing Arts Ecosystem, published in May 2025. The publication is available in two languages: Polish and English.
According to the report, a producer is someone who works ‘in between’, connecting the people and areas that make a performance or event possible, and creating the conditions to do so. Producers keep an eye on budget and time constraints, carry out ‘strange diplomatic missions’, and experience loneliness, which gives them a sense of agency but also carries the risk of burnout. What do the invited guests think about this profession?
Theatre producers (or more broadly, people working in theatre and performing arts) are not a very visible profession in public discourse, despite playing a key role in the realisation of artistic events.
Debate with Karolina Ochab, Izabella Oleś and Ulrike Josephsson
7 December 2025, 11:00–12:30 am at Bunkier Sztuki, Plac Szczepański 3a, Kraków.
Moderator: Anna Galas-Kosil
Introduction: Karolina Dziełak-Żakowska
The debate will be held in Polish and interpreted into English.
The event is co-organised by the Boska Komedia Festival.
The participation of Ulrika Josephsson was supported by the Polish Institute in Stockholm.
Admission is free.
We invite you to join the event on Facebook.
For more information about the debates during the festival, visit: https://boskakomedia.pl/aktualnosci/debaty-i-spotkania-boskiej-komedii-2025.
We particularly recommend the debate ‘Polish Scenes’ — a promotional meeting for Théâtre/Public magazine No. 258. N° 258 Scènes polonaises of Théâtre/Public magazine was published with the support of the Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Institute in Paris.
