On the Benefits of Plague: Polish Fringe Theatre in 2020

ABSTRACT

The aim of this essay is to demonstrate the significant function played by theatres during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. It examines three pandemic projects created by fringe theatre companies and individual performers in Poland that address political and social questions, such as women's reproductive rights, excessive government control over private lives, and the social exclusion of disabled and immigrant communities Arti Grabowski's Improvised Lecture, Usta Usta Republika Theatre's Embassy 2.0, and Adam Ziajski and Scena Robocza's Don't Tell Anyone The Quarantine. The essay traces how these artists rediscovered the new relevance of earlier work and explored the potential of multimedia practices to reach larger or different audiences. Its discussion is grounded in Antonin Artaud's concept of theatre as the plague and Susan Neiman's perspective of "corona as chance," whereby emphasizing the major alteration of perspective and commitment to change brought about or facilitated by the pandemic.