Tuesday, 18 May 2021

The Programme for the 56th Edition of the Maribor Theatre Festival Is Revealed

Nomad <em>Photo: Filip Van Roe</em>
Nomad Photo: Filip Van Roe
Aleš Novak, umetniški direktor <em>Photo: Boštjan Lah</em>
Aleš Novak, umetniški direktor Photo: Boštjan Lah

We are less than a month away from the beginning of the central Slovenian theatre festival. This year's Maribor Theatre Festival was planned to take place at an earlier date, however it had to be moved to the second half of June due to the uncertain situation we have found ourselves in. Planning and organising theatre festivals in such unsure circumstances brings about certain organisational risks and many other adjustments, especially now when the number of events is increasing, since theatres have recently been allowed to open for visitors. Several theatres had to significantly adapt their schedules and activities to be able to take part in the festival. Even though a lot of other European festivals decided on hybrid, digital and web performances, we stood our ground on the decision that this year's Maribor Theatre Festival will be performed live, in front of an audience and will therefore remain what it has always been, a gathering of theatre aficionados. 

Upon revealing the festival programme, the artistic director Aleš Novak said: 
"The core of our programme remains last year's unrealized competition programme selected by Rok Bozovičar. Out of altogether ten shows we will be able to see eight and a jury of five international theatre experts will bestow the festival awards. We redesigned the introductory segment of the festival dedicated to developing younger audiences and tutoring theatre workers, while strengthening our traditional collaboration with the Slovene theatre academy. Despite these uncertain times we’re maintaining our international presence. We’re hosting eight foreign performances and many other guests, including the prominent Berliner Ensemble as well as the Eastman group - lead by the internationally renowned director and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. There will also be numerous events in the accompanying programme set, including eight theatre performances, many roundtables and panel discussions with international participation, and a string of riveting musical acts. As is already tradition, our events are prepared and organized with the help of many partners and co-organizers. The Maribor Theatre Festival is truly and fully prepared with utmost dedication. And we’re hoping it will be followed by an abundantly rich theatre season, without any new outbreaks of the corona virus, interruptions or standstills."

The ticket presale is starting soon and we’ll make sure to inform you when it does.