Polish musicians on the Barbican Centre stage during the Unsound festival and Łukasz Twarkowski’s “The Employees” at the Southbank Centre – this is an artistic preview of the UK/Poland Season 2025 cultural programme. The programme is set to begin in March and will feature over one hundred events spanning film, theatre, visual arts, design, and music across numerous cities in Poland and the UK.
UK/Poland Season 2025 – starting in March
The UK/Poland Cultural Season is a common project developed by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, British Council, and Polish Cultural Institute in London. The Season’s programme will feature artistic events taking place both in the UK and in Poland, organised as part of the cooperation between cultural institutions from both countries. Its aim is to stimulate dialogue, deepen cooperation, and strengthen artistic and social ties.
The cultural season will officially begin in March. Its inauguration will feature two key events: the exhibition “St Ives and Elsewhere” at the Museum of Art in Łódź (5 March 2024), showcasing works from the collections of the British Council, Tate, and Polish museums, and the opening of the Kinoteka festival at the British Film Institute’s main cinema, BFI Southbank (6 March 2024).
A preview of the Season’s full programme was presented by two events held on London stages in January: the Unsound Festival’s collaboration with the Barbican Centre and the performance of “The Employees” at the Southbank Centre.
Unsound x Barbican Centre – Unsound music festival returns to London
The foreign edition of the Unsound music festival returned to London. Thanks to its collaboration with the Barbican Centre, on 17 January 2024, the talents of avant-garde music were showcased on the British stage: Mabe Fratti, Raphael Rogiński, and Mica Levi accompanied by the Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra.
Mabe Fratti, photo by Mark Allan/Unsound x Barbican
The evening’s repertoire highlighted the diversity of contemporary music. Sounds that defy genre classifications ranged from reimagined classical pieces to experimental compositions. Mica Levi, a renowned composer, joined Sinfonietta Cracovia to present a selection of works for large string orchestra, including a premiere piece specially commissioned by Unsound. Mabe Fratti, an experimental guitarist, cellist, and composer from Guatemala, performed a piece from her latest album, “Sentir Que No Sabes”. Raphael Roginski, guitarist and composer, showcased material from his latest album, “Žaltys” (Unsound, 2024).
The Unsound Festival is one of the most recognisable Polish initiatives connected to contemporary music. The main part of the festival has been held annually in Krakow for nearly 20 years, with additional editions organised abroad. In November 2024, the Unsound Festival was held in New York, supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Sinfonietta Cracovia, photo by Mark Allan/Unsound x Barbican
Production: Barbican
Collaboration: Unsound, Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Łukasz Twarkowski’s “The Employees” at the Southbank Centre
The play “The Employees”, directed by Łukasz Twarkowski, was staged at the Southbank Centre, one of London’s largest and most influential cultural institutions. Performances took place in the main auditorium of the Queen Elizabeth Hall from 16 to 19 January 2025.
A scene from the play “The Employees”, directed by Łukasz Twarkowski, 2023, photo by Natalia Kabanow/Teatr Studio in Warsaw.
“The Employees”, directed by Łukasz Twarkowski, is a spectacle that blurs the boundaries between drama and visual art. Based on the Booker Prize-nominated novel by Danish writer Olga Ravn, the intimate science fiction drama, set in the future, explores the relationship between humanoid robots and humans. The play has received awards at prominent Polish theatre festivals. It is a production of STUDIO Teatrgaleria in Warsaw.
