“Dziecinada” is not just a festival – it's also a meeting place, a space for sharing experiences and building a community around children's theatre. It's where new ideas are born, connections are made, and a passion for the arts grows.
The Origins and History of "Dziecinada"
The beginnings of the festival were a passionate initiative launched by Klinika Lalek Theatre and the Wrocław Children’s Theatre. After the first performance produced by the Wrocław Children’s Theatre (“Peter Pan”) on the stage of Impart, Wiktor Wiktorczyk, Director of Klinika Lalek Theatre, immediately recognized the urgent need to expand the theatrical offerings for young audiences.
After all, there is nothing more beautiful than an honest and deeply sensitive audience – children who fidget and yawn when they’re bored, but squeal with delight like they’re at a Beatles concert when something truly excites them. Here, no one pretends or just “sits nicely” – reviews are instant, and the actor-audience connection is astonishingly direct.
It turned out that in a city where more than 100,000 children live, there was no theatre festival dedicated specifically to them. That’s how the very first edition of “Dziecinada” was born.
It was immediately hailed as a success! Children’s theatre is magic – good magic.
The first editions of the festival showed us how great the demand for such an event was in Wrocław, how eager young audiences are for theatrical diversity, how genuinely honest and grateful children are as viewers, and how many wonders theatre can truly work.
Once upon a time – back in 2013 – a festival was born in Wrocław with a mission to enchant the youngest audiences with the magic of theatre. It quickly became a favorite among entire families. Klinika Lalek Theatre, the hosts of the International Children’s Theatre Festival “Dziecinada”, began by creating a theatre for the youngest spectators, taking their first steps on stage at the Impart Arts Centre in Wrocław.
In response to the enormous interest and the needs of young audiences, the idea of a dedicated festival for children was born – and so, “Dziecinada” came to life. Since then, every year, thousands of little explorers of stage adventures join the festival to experience the wonder of theatre.
Over the years, “Dziecinada” has grown to impressive proportions. Today, it features dozens of performances presented not only on theatre stages, but also in open-air venues and unexpected locations – places where theatre rarely reaches. Theatre companies from around the world come to Wrocław, showcasing performances in various languages and styles.
The festival is accompanied by workshops, artist talks, exhibitions, and concerts, creating a true celebration of theatre for the whole family.
For the past three years, “Dziecinada” has also had a local edition called “Dziecinada on the Road”, through which artists visit smaller towns and villages across Lower Silesia, where access to high-quality theatre is often limited.
What hasn’t changed?
For years, Dziecinada has remained true to its belief that theatre should be accessible to everyone, and that it holds tremendous power to ease what is unfamiliar, to connect people – across generations, cultures, and backgrounds – and to support the multidimensional development of children, parents, and caregivers alike.
We smile with pride at the thought that we were practicing accessibility long before it became a legal requirement. And we continue to carry out that mission naturally – without creating artificial divisions – using theatre as a tool for connection, integration, and awakening curiosity about one another.
What hasn’t changed is our passion for discovering new forms of expression and new artistic qualities in theatre for the very young.
Despite its growth and scale, “Dziecinada” has never lost its unique character or warm, welcoming atmosphere. At the heart of the festival is the connection with the child – their joy and emotion. Every performance is carefully selected to entertain, educate, and inspire our youngest audiences.
A New Chapter
The year 2024 was a transitional one – “Dziecinada” has moved to a biennial format. This means the festival will now take place every two years, giving the organizers more time to prepare even more exceptional and unforgettable events.
The new format aims to better meet the needs of today’s children and their parents, and for us – the organizers – it provides extra time to create an outstanding program and, let’s be honest, to secure the necessary funding to build a theatrical world that will leave audiences breathless with wonder!
What’s on this year?
This year, we look at our world – both inner and outer – through a theatrical lens to discover new meanings and inspirations. We don’t invite you to “escape reality” through theatre, but quite the opposite – to come closer to it. To let the everyday ordinary and “obvious obviousness” amaze us anew, and for the routine and boredom of daily life to suddenly become magical.
We will explore relationships – with ourselves, with others, with the world – aiming to show children that diversity does not divide, but enriches. A common thread running through many of the performances is a shift in perspective, curiosity about the world, and a tender gaze at the Other. The heroes of these stories are seekers and wanderers, outsiders, fearless explorers, and those who try once more.
The shows invited to this year’s “Dziecinada” offer a multitude of stories and theatrical genres – full of character and heart, often questioning, sometimes quirky and edgy. Here you will find tales of loneliness and inner turmoil, but also bursts of joy, acrobatic bravado, and childlike freedom.
We place no limits on age or language – opening spaces where everyone can pause, see from a different perspective, and move forward – perhaps changed a little. We invited artists from the Netherlands, Japan, Norway, Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Poland. The festival will feature puppet theatre, physical theatre, circus performances, storytelling theatre, theatrical concerts, shadow theatre, large outdoor spectacles, and improvised performances. There will also be shows that don’t need words to move you – performances for the very youngest, based on touch, sound, and closeness. Theatre that doesn’t play “for” children, but “with” children. We are also planning an outdoor day – and in royal style!
Following the old tradition of traveling theatres, we will visit several smaller towns in Lower Silesia with a mobile edition of the festival called “Dziecinada on the Road”. In collaboration with various organizations, we will invite those for whom going to the theatre is not a given, who usually have limited access to high-quality art.
How can the role of theatre in a child’s life be summarized in a few points?
- Integration and socialization
- Addressing difficult topics such as aging, loneliness, and death
- Entertainment and play
- Development of imagination, unleashing magic and honesty
- Surprise, motivation, learning, and awakening curiosity
- Introducing other cultures and familiarizing children with the unfamiliar
- Supporting the multidimensional development of children, parents, and caregivers
