By the phrase “bad direction” we mean artistic work openly flouting the technical and aesthetic constraints that are a prerequisite for a production to be considered professional, well executed. It involves a number of gestures aimed to break down the dramatic structure of a piece by adding elements which are unfinished, incomplete, imperfect, widely regarded as uncreative, sloppy, improper, or just off target.  

The works we have in mind often go against audience expectations and challenge conventional ideas of what makes “good theatre.” The iconoclastic strategy of “bad direction” involves a search for a new theatrical language by making a clean break with the aesthetic and technical canon that does not suffice to tell the truth about man. 

The panel is a response to what we are seeing in contemporary Polish theatre. We feel that the strategy we have outlined above is evident in some of the most interesting and inspirational works today and, in effect, the works are sometimes misunderstood, ignored or rejected.  

Speakers will include Malgorzata Dziewulska, Michal Borczuch, Michal Zadara and members of the editorial board of Didaskalia Anna R. Burzynska and Marcin Koscielniak. Our hope is to create a new vision and language opening up a new perspective on “bad direction.”