A Timed Immersive Experience to Unleash Your Imagination of Freedom An Interview with Łukasz Twarkowski, Director of Respublika

How much freedom does the nine-to-five grind and the paycheck it brings actually offer you?

Polish theater director Łukasz Twarkowski is renowned for blending theater with multimedia art, consistently pushing the boundaries of conventional performance. His works dismantle established norms and challenge the “normalcy” of contemporary life. Through theater, he provokes thought, spurs conversations, and generates collisions of ideas. Twarkowski has crafted a unique theatrical language, blurring the lines between stage and audience, theater and reality. In an era where immersive worlds are typically defined by technology, Twarkowski redefines immersion through live theater, establishing new benchmarks for the concept.
Launched in 2019, Respublika transforms the audience into active participants. Over the course of six hours, the production challenges them to rethink their understanding of freedom. Yet, before unlocking Pandora’s box, Twarkowski offers his audience the ultimate key: the absolute freedom to join or withdraw at any moment.

Life as Experimentation: Rehearsal as Reconstruction

The creation of Respublika was no simple task. Twarkowski took inspiration from the 18th-century micro-society Republic of Paulava, founded by Polish priest Paweł Ksawery Brzostowski, which extended the discussion to the boundaries of freedom in modern societies. As a seasoned raver (note 1), Twarkowski connected this concept with American writer Hakim Bey’s “Temporary Autonomous Zone” (note 2), merging the two into a year-long living experiment.

“We interviewed over a hundred people before assembling a founding team of 15 performers,” Twarkowski shared. These participants represented a microcosm of society, a natural and organic community that extended beyond actors to include composers, DJs, set designers, costume creators, and dramaturgs. All participants lived together in isolation, creating a genuine independent society.

This process blurred the lines between rehearsal and daily life, work and personal boundaries. With no obligations enforced, tasks like cooking and cleaning became surprisingly challenging, while more abstract ideals like resource sharing and idea exchange flowed naturally.

Twarkowski fostered this experimental community through structured activities, including workshops, rave culture explorations, film screenings, and DJ training. As rehearsals progressed, the group evolved into a professional rave ensemble, culminating in a pivotal question: What is the meaning of work and income in modern society? After a year of philosophical discussion and nightly raves, how would participants reintegrate into reality?

"It turned out that such a unique experience made everyone (at least myself) begin to reflect on their position in society in daily life, and whether they could consciously step away from or automatically refrain from doing certain things." Lucas discovered that after leaving the project, participants became more mindful of each decision, turning 'thinking' from a deliberate choice into a habit, and eventually into an intrinsic part of their daily lives.

Through Respublika, Twarkowski invites audiences to step into a temporary autonomous zone, severing ties with the outside world to discover freedom’s nuances. Timed yet deeply impactful, this experience enriches participants' understanding of freedom, encouraging them to seek it beyond the boundaries of the performance.He recalled that when the project began, at least half the team was unfamiliar with rave culture, and some even openly disliked electronic music. In the forest, a 'confessional room' was set up for 24/7 filming, where each participant could share their feelings and experiences freely. The entire group would regularly review and discuss these recordings to better understand the participants' experiences. "What stood out most to me was when one person, who had initially hated electronic music, finally said in the confessional room one day, 'Damn it, I’m starting to like electronic music!'” It was at that moment that Lucas truly felt things were beginning to unfold. From then on, he was finally able to start structuring the storyline for The Republic and embark on this unique creative journey.

Six Hours of Immersion: The Journey to Oneness

Twarkowski cites the classic rave documentary Storming Sarajevo as an example, in which Glasgow’s pioneering rave artist Keith Robinson overcame numerous obstacles to bring sound equipment to the streets of post-war Yugoslavia, recently affected by a ceasefire. He set up the speakers, played electronic music, and invited war survivors to join in the music and dance freely, embracing a sense of liberation. “What fascinates me deeply is the political implications and potential embedded in the essence of rave,” Twarkowski explained. He believes that the ultimate goal of any dictator is to suppress joy, and the happiness that music and dancing bring is what fuels revolutions, movements, and gives people the strength to continue fighting for their cause.
Breaking down personal defenses is no easy task. Rave, by its very nature, is an experience built on the premise of extended time, designed to challenge time, systems, and institutions, urging participants to fully immerse themselves both physically and mentally. Therefore, Respublika is not merely an event or immersive experience; it encourages participants to realize that in this uniquely created space and time, nothing is required of them. "You can choose to immerse yourself or step back and observe, dance or resist the euphoria. You’re free to come and go, directing your own time and movements during these six hours." Absolute freedom is the first gift Twarkowski offers his audience.

In the performance of Respublika, alongside recreating a micro-society within a forest, various scenes are created for the audience to freely choose and join. Among these are a kitchen, a bar, a sauna, a spaceship, an elevated viewing platform, and the main stage, featuring a DJ booth and dance floor. The 2020 premiere in Lithuania took place in a large film studio in the capital, and subsequent European tours occurred in various indoor and outdoor spaces. The tour in Athens at the Onassis Cultural Centre(Onassis Stegi) even attracted nearly 7,000 participants. Structured around a narrative, the performance is divided into three stages: The first introduces the overarching theme, followed by the second, which provides individual movement experiences. As participants gradually integrate into the collective, the final stage ushers everyone onto the dance floor for an unforgettable rave, where time and reality dissolve, and music and dance take control.

Debuting in Asia: Respublika Meets Institutional Theater

Requiring considerable space and time, the piece has toured extensively for years and will venture beyond Europe for the first time in 2025, launching its Asia tour. The journey begins in Taiwan, a symbol of freedom in Asia, and at the Taipei Performing Arts Center, which is set to take on this challenge with its two new performance halls, designed on a monumental scale as a "super-theater."
Twarkowski made a special visit to Taipei six months ahead of time for a quick location scout, admitting that the space exceeded his expectations in its suitability. Just as stepping out of Europe was a dream for this creation, the Taipei Performing Arts Center will also mark the first time Respublika enters a traditional theater setting. This is not just a challenge of space, but also a significant shift—Shifting from the margins of institutional structures to the heart of the theater, imbued with profound meaning.

The blueprint for the super-theater is already in place. In addition to the main stage with a DJ, there will be a kitchen, bar, sauna, and exhibition spaces. The elevated stands will offer the audience a view from above, almost as if they were gods. "Everything will happen at the same time. You won’t be able to see it all, but you can choose to engage or walk away, or simply observe one day and immerse yourself the next. During the experience, you'll receive a wealth of information and be free to choose what to absorb."

Can I truly feel free？

“Freedom is something everyone seeks,” Twarkowski reflected cautiously. “I could only craft experiences that offered a glimpse of its essence, but there were never any definitive answers.” He noted that freedom came with a cost—genuine connection required breaking down barriers, often verging on discomfort or oppression.
Through Respublika, Twarkowski invites audiences to step into a temporary autonomous zone, severing ties with the outside world to discover freedom’s nuances. Timed yet deeply impactful, this experience enriches participants' understanding of freedom, encouraging them to seek it beyond the boundaries of the performance.
“Join us and forge your own path,” Twarkowski said with a smile. For him, the essence of freedom was found in the fleeting yet profound act of becoming part of a collective.

Notes:
Raver: A participant in rave culture, characterized by DJ-driven electronic music and a celebration of peace, love, unity, and respect. Historically, raves have also been linked to rebellion and anarchism.
Temporary Autonomous Zone (T.A.Z.): A concept by Hakim Bey, describing a temporarily liberated space that supports open discussions and actions free from societal norms.

Text by Stella Tsai
Translated by Hsuan Chen