About the Institute

We document Polish theatrical life acting for the sake of the development of theatre culture – we support public debate about native theatre, broaden research perspectives, and coordinate educational.

The Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute focuses on documentation, promotion, and animation of Polish theatrical life. It supports educational projects, research, and in addition acts as a publisher. The Theatre Institute manages the largest archive of theatre-related documents in Poland, maintains a library, houses the specialist bookshop PROSPERO, and runs a theatre studio that presents performances which are open to the public. The Theatre Institute manages an internet portal devoted to Polish theatre (e-teatr.pl), and as well, the site “Encyclopedia of the Polish theatre” (encyklopediateatru.pl).

The Theatre Institute’s programs and competitions aim in different regards to initiate activities within theatre pedagogy, to support staging of Polish contemporary art and classic works of Polish literature as well as broader productions of the independent theatre scene. It works to disseminate the idea of public theatre, and to develop practices that lie on the intersection of theatre and other fields such as theatre photography, choreography in dramatic theatre, radio dramas, and other projects created by visual and new media artists.