The aim of dr Katarzyna Kręglewska's project, a laureate of the Gdańsk Humanities Support Programme, is to investigate how theatre has functioned in the Tricity area over the past thirty-two years and to present the results in the form of a scientific monograph.

The Support Programme for the Humanities in Gdańsk is realised as part of the Initiative for Excellence in Research Universities (IDUB) and is addressed to academic teachers at UG who research the humanities. This is the third programme implemented as part of IDUB. One of the individual laureates was dr Katarzyna Kręglewska and her project entitled Spaces of theatre - theatre of space. A map of Tricity theatrical phenomena in the years 1989-2021.

The scope of the planned research is cross-sectional. - 'My goal is to create a possibly complementary picture: starting from people who create theatre (directors, actors, critics, theatreologists), through a selection of theatre performances, a panorama of state and off- theatre institutions, festivals taking place in the Tricity and organised events (such as Gdynia Drama Award, open readings of dramas - e.g. PC DRAMA, theatre improvisation and stand-up), explains dr Katarzyna Kręglewska. - Then, there are issues related to theatre education (Danuta Baduszkowa Vocal and Acting School, Wybrzeżak Association) and - especially dynamically developing in recent years - theatre pedagogy. Finally, I will be interested in the way theatre functions in social space, both in the form of various artistic initiatives undertaken in non-theatrical spaces, as well as in mutual relations between artists and institutions and their audiences,' she adds.

The research conducted by dr Katarzyna Kręglewska (and, consequently, the planned monograph) is aimed both at drawing a map, covering the widest possible panorama of phenomena, and at paying special attention to selected - the most representative and valuable - activities. The area of research covers the functioning of theatre in the years 1989-2021 (from the systemic transformation to the pandemic and the death of prof. dr. hab. Jerzy Limon, the founder of the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre, as well as the planned hybrid anniversary edition of the Sopot Non-Fiction Festival).

The grant support received for our colleague's project is appreciated by our colleagues from the Department of Drama, Theatre and Performance at the Faculty of Philology of the University of Gdańsk. - 'The project by our colleague, dr Katarzyna Kręglewska, is just like its author: bold and ambitious because it is both a wide panorama of the phenomenon and an in-depth study of selected cases and at the same time it is interdisciplinary and multi-textual,' says dr hab. Małgorzata Jarmułowicz, prof. UG, head of the Department of Drama, Theatre and Performances, Faculty of Philology, UG. At the same time, it is part of the excellent tradition of research on Tricity theatre, which has been carried out for years in the Department of Drama, Theatre and Performances, in particular by its late founder and leader, prof. Jan Ciechowicz, and the tragically deceased dr Joanna Puzyna-Chojka.

Dr hab. Małgorzata Jarmułowicz, prof. UG stresses that the winner of the grant, as a student of such teachers, has taken over many of their excellent research skills and passion for theatre studies. - 'This, combined with her scientific maturity, creativity and diligence, must result in a work of exceptional quality. I look forward with great impatience and joy to the "launch" of this monograph,' she adds.

Research undertaken as part of the project will be interdisciplinary. An important element of the research will be conversations conducted with artists, critics and scholars of Tricity theatre - both in public spaces, such as the Between.Pomiędzy Literary and Theatre Festival, as well as in the form of individual consultations.

According to the researcher, an important research assumption is a conviction that the geographical environment, together with the resulting cultural geography, has a huge impact on shaping the identity of artists living in a given space. - 'Theatre, as a socially significant phenomenon and a place that is often a space for diagnosing the present day, is always a reflection of its times,' she argues. In her monograph Spaces of theatre - theatre of space, she wants to examine how the cultural geography of the Tricity influences the shaping of local theatre life and how theatre, through constructed models of reality, contributes to shaping cultural perceptions of the Tricity.

In her opinion, among the most important features, which constitute the specificity of the studied area, the centuries-old history and rich cultural heritage of Gdańsk (understood as the cradle of the Tricity), the multiculturalism inscribed in its history and the recognition of the city not only on a national scale but also in the world (the Tricity as a place of change, which led to the political transformation) should be indicated. - 'The selection of examples, which are the subject of in-depth analysis in the monograph, is supposed to take into account not only the local perspective but also make it possible to place the Tricity theatrical phenomena in a broader - national and global - perspective,' she says.

The planned monograph is supposed to be a contribution to the development of research on contemporary theatre. - 'It can be assumed that the publication, which summarizes important theatrical activities in the Tricity over the last thirty years, will contribute to increasing interest in local theatre, not only among professional readers but also - due to the importance and recognisability of the Tricity and representatives of its theatre community - among a wider audience, also worldwide.'.

Katarzyna Kręglewska: a theatre scholar and translator, works as an assistant professor at the Department of Drama, Theatre and Performance at the University of Gdańsk. Her research interests focus on contemporary theatre and literature as well as issues related to autobiography. Author of the book Polskie pamiętniki teatralne. Teoria - historia - teksty, co-editor of several scientific volumes, constantly collaborates with quarterly magazines Konteksty. Polska Sztuka Ludowa and Tekstualia quarterly magazines. She is currently conducting an individual research project Spaces of theatre - theatre of space. Map of Tricity theatrical phenomena in the years 1989-2021 as part of the Programme of Support for Gdańsk Humanities. Since 2016, she has been associated with the Between.Pomiędzy Literature and Theatre Festival as Deputy Director for Science.

More about the winners of the Gdańsk Humanities Support Programme: https://ug.edu.pl/nauka/inicjatywa-doskonalosci-uczelnia-badawcza/progr...