When Krystyna Meissner organized the first edition of the International Theatre Festival Dialog-Wrocław in 2001, her aim was to bring together theatre artists from West and East, to confront languages, styles, aesthetics, and themes that set the trends in a Europe still divided. The guiding principle of the Festival was very simple from the beginning: each day of the Dialog consisted of two performances in dialogue with one another, linked by theme, aesthetic, direction, and staging experiments, among others. At first, these pairs consisted of one Polish and one foreign performance; over time, the issue of “origin” gave way to the significance of the themes and problems explored in the productions. The confrontation of theatres from different parts of Europe and the world gradually transformed into a narrative about the most urgent problems of contemporary life, as seen through the perspectives of artists from diverse cultures and theatre traditions. 

From the outset, Dialog-Wrocław has been not only a venue for presenting theatre productions but above all a space for the free exchange of ideas and discussion about contemporary issues. Artists and intellectuals invited to the Festival, taking the performances as their point of departure, have sought answers to fundamental questions of social coexistence: who are we? Where are we going? What are we afraid of? What must we oppose? The Festival has consistently promoted exploratory artists who, through their often avant-garde and subversive productions, have demonstrated the vitality of theatre as an art form. By addressing difficult, often painful topics, they have drawn attention to theatre as a vital element of public debate. 

Thanks to Dialog-Wrocław, many of the world’s most outstanding theatre creators came to Poland, often for the first time: Christoph Marthaler, Oskaras Korsunovas, Robert Wilson, Antônio Araújo, Árpád Schilling, Luk Perceval, Alvis Hermanis, René Pollesch, Simon McBurney, Johan Simons, Andreas Kriegenburg, William Kentridge, Rabih Mroué, Ivo van Hove, Dmitry Krymov, Romeo Castellucci, Emma Dante, Oliver Frljić, Alain Platel, Susanne Kennedy, Brett Bailey. The Festival has also hosted major figures of Polish theatre, among them Krystian Lupa, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Grzegorz Jarzyna, Jerzy Grzegorzewski, Jan Klata, Grzegorz Bral, Paweł Miśkiewicz, Michał Zadara, Barbara Wysocka, Radosław Rychcik. All these artists create theatre that is not only formally original but, above all, makes theatre into a vital space for audiences – a place of encounter and confrontation. 

Since its inception, the Festival has undergone significant changes, similar to social and political realities in Europe and in the world. However, it has always sought to keep pace with these changes, trying—through theatre and within theatre—to answer the question of what kind of world we live in and what awaits us in the near future. The Festival’s primary mission remains to create opportunities for encounters with theatre that extend beyond mere aesthetic experiences. 

Dialog-Wrocław is an auteur festival. After two decades at its helm, Krystyna Meissner designated Mirosław Kocur as her successor. The new edition, while continuing Meissner’s vision, introduces some changes. Kocur, a professor at the University of Wrocław, proposes opening the Festival with a lecture by a distinguished scholar, highlighting the connection between contemporary art and science, and unveiling unexpected contexts of the productions presented. He has also invited leading researchers to reflect on the role of new technologies in creating artistic simulations. The encounter with theatre continues.