Teatr Druga Strefa in Warsaw is opening a new chapter in its festival activities, hosting the first edition of the 'Students on Stage' event from November 6–10, 2026. The event aims to gather young theater creators from several Polish academic centers. The festival program will feature performances prepared by troupes from Poznań, Gdańsk, Lublin, Zielona Góra, and Warsaw.
Competition and Winner Selection
The key element of the festival is the competition for the Grand Prix award, in which six plays will participate. A distinctive feature of this year's festival is the method of awarding the prize – it will not be decided by a professional jury, but by the audience. After each competitive performance, viewers will have the opportunity to talk to the creators and cast their vote for their favorite. The winner will be announced at the end of the event.
Performance Program
The festival will open with the performance “The World Is Ending! A Drama from the Life of Greater Poland People in Dialect” by the Poznań-based troupe TEMCZASOWO EKA TEJATRALNO. The production transports the viewer to 19th-century Greater Poland, addressing contemporary social and political processes through the prism of a plot with a strong dramatic tone.
The subsequent days of the festival will bring diverse theatrical forms. The program includes, among others, “Transgreska” from Gdańsk, a performative story about the body and identity, and Lublin’s “The Unattainable,” which combines physical theater with a reflection on the interdependence of humans and nature. On Sunday, two shows are planned: Warsaw’s “Boeing 737-800,” dealing with the mechanisms of power, and Zielona Góra’s “Torpor,” an intimate monodrama dedicated to memory and transience. The competitive section will close with Monday’s performance “Krwawogrody. The Disco Must Continue!” from Poznań, addressing issues of belonging and the boundaries of community.
Finale and Project History
The entire event will be concluded by Tuesday’s showcase performance “The Geometry of Propaganda” by Tomasz Piotrowski, directed by Sylwester Biraga. This production, combining elements of formal theater with New Circus, will be presented by the festival hosts themselves, i.e., Teatr Druga Strefa. After its conclusion, the Grand Prix winner will be revealed.
The event is a continuation of the #StudenciNaScenę project, implemented at Teatr Druga Strefa since 2020. Within this initiative, led by Sylwester Biraga, the theater's stage has already hosted over twenty performances by student theaters from various regions of Poland, and theater workshops have also been organized.