Graphics: Klaudia Borawiak
“No One Gets Left Behind” – A Creative Gathering of Theatre Practitioners Working in Prisons
Stand-up, comedy and storytelling became the starting point for a meeting of Prison Service officers and educators from Poland and Italy. Over three days, we wrote, improvised and worked with movement, voice and theatre, but above all we explored methods used in prisons and rehabilitation institutions. This was the project “No One Gets Left Behind – A Creative Gathering of Theatre Practitioners Working in Prisons”, carried out by Fundacja Dom Kultury in Warsaw in September 2026.
The project took place on 23–25 September 2026. Its main participants were 11 cultural and educational officers from prisons supervised by the Regional Inspectorate of the Prison Service in Warsaw. In their daily work, they are responsible for activities related to education, culture and the social reintegration of people in prison.
We wanted to create a space where the officers could not only learn about different methods of cultural education, but experience them themselves. We invited educators who use stand-up and theatre in their social work and in prison and rehabilitation settings to work together.
The project partner was the Italian organisation CCO – Crisi come Opportunità, which has been working with young people at risk of social exclusion since 2006, including young people in Italian rehabilitation institutions. Stowarzyszenie Kobietostan was also involved in the project.
Cooperation with the Regional Inspectorate of the Prison Service in Warsaw and the management of the Warsaw-Grochów Remand Centre and the Warsaw-Bemowo External Unit was particularly important. Thanks to this cooperation, officers from prisons across the Warsaw district took part in the project, while an additional third day was held at the Warsaw-Bemowo External Unit with women serving their sentences there.
23 September – stand-up: from observation to your own story
On the first day, we met at Klub Komediowy. The workshops were led by Kinga Kosik-Burzyńska. We began by observing everyday life – situations, behaviours, language and things that surprise us, irritate us or simply seem absurd. Participants looked for comedy in their observations, explored them from different perspectives, built stories together and then wrote their own texts.
The officers and educators went through the entire process, from the initial idea through writing and editing to performing in front of an audience. Working with stand-up combines several elements: careful observation of reality, expressing your own point of view, finding distance and comedy, writing and learning how to tell your story to others.
Stand-up show: officers, educators and women from Bemowo on one stage
The first day ended with a show at Klub Komediowy. The workshop participants took to the stage with the texts they had started working on earlier that same day.
They were joined by women from the Warsaw-Bemowo External Unit, who had previously developed their own material during workshops led by Kinga Kosik-Burzyńska and Cezary Jurkiewicz. It was not their first performance at Klub Komediowy – stand-up had become part of the cultural education activities run by Fundacja Dom Kultury in prison.
The same stage was therefore shared by people who work in prisons every day, educators from Poland and Italy and women serving prison sentences. And there was plenty of laughter – both on stage and in the audience.
Fundacja Dom Kultury has been working with Klub Komediowy for several years on various initiatives, including activities in prisons and youth educational centres. The club was not a partner in the SYNERGIE project, but its venue and the experience of its artists were an important part of the first day.
24 September – theatre, movement, improvisation and voice
On the second day, we met at Nowy Teatr. This time, instead of starting with text, we began with the body, movement, gesture, voice, interaction with another person and working as a group.
The day opened with Graszka Kopeć and Margo Lebiediuk, who led the workshop “What Makes a Good Workshop”. Participants worked with movement, gesture and group activities while also looking at how a workshop is structured: how to begin working with a group, how to gradually increase the level of difficulty and why a particular exercise is introduced at a particular moment.
Next, educators from CCO – Crisi come Opportunità led the workshop “Theatre, Movement and Improvisation”. Our Italian partners shared methods they use in their work with young people in rehabilitation institutions. We worked with movement, eye contact, gesture and improvisation. The Polish and Italian participants could not always communicate freely without interpretation, yet in many activities a shared spoken language proved unnecessary. Movement, gesture, voice, observing a partner and responding to their actions were enough.
The final workshop, “A Voice That Empowers”, was led by Agnieszka Bresler and Iwona Konecka from Stowarzyszenie Kobietostan. Participants worked with voice, sound and rhythm, creating theatrical activities together. Here, voice meant both physical sound and the ability to express oneself, make one’s presence felt and be heard.
As with Klub Komediowy, Fundacja Dom Kultury also works with Nowy Teatr outside the SYNERGIE project. These ongoing relationships with cultural institutions are an important part of our work in prisons.
Panel: “The Role of Cultural Education in the Social Reintegration of People in Prison”
The two days of workshops concluded with the panel “The Role of Cultural Education in the Social Reintegration Process”, moderated by Dr Katarzyna Nawrocka from The Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw and Fundacja Dom Kultury.
The discussion brought together Małgorzata Brus from Fundacja Dom Kultury; Col. Krzysztof Karwowski, Director of the Penitentiary Bureau of the Central Board of the Prison Service; Lt. Col. Iwona Ossowska, Director of the Regional Inspectorate of the Prison Service in Warsaw; Giulia Agostini from CCO; Agnieszka Bresler and Iwona Konecka from Stowarzyszenie Kobietostan; and Damian Kalita, Head of the Education and Social Projects Department at Teatr Studio and an educator with Fundacja Dom Kultury.
We discussed the place of cultural education in the social reintegration process, the experiences of people working in prisons, the barriers they encounter and cooperation between the Prison Service, NGOs, artists and cultural institutions.
Special thanks go to Ada Szulc from Fundacja Dom Kultury, who hosted the entire meeting and provided Polish-English interpretation. We also thank Tommaso Lombardo from Fundacja Dom Kultury and Agnieszka Bresler from Stowarzyszenie Kobietostan for Polish-Italian interpretation. Thanks to them, Polish and Italian participants were able to genuinely exchange experiences throughout the workshops, discussions and joint activities.
The project “No One Is Left Behind – A Creative Meeting of Theatre Practitioners Working in Prisons” has been funded from the state budget through resources allocated by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage under the National Centre for Culture’s SYNERGIE Programme, 2026 Edition.
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