Slovak Performing Arts
The Slovak Performing Arts project brings together two original initiatives: Contemporary Directors of Slovakia and 10 Creators of Slovak Dance. These have merged into a new, distinctive whole, which has gradually expanded to include additional profiles and later a dedicated section on scenography.
The website presents profiles and overviews of the work of selected figures in directing, choreography, and scenography who are currently actively shaping the poetics and aesthetics of Slovak theatre. The aim of the collection is to provide a comprehensive overview highlighting the originality, specific features, and diversity of artistic approaches among active theatre makers in Slovakia.
Each profile includes a biographical medallion, a list of awards, productions, and a characterization of the artist’s distinctive poetics. The platform is also available in English, thus presenting Slovak artistic production abroad and serving as a catalogue and an initial point of reference for navigating contemporary theatre and performance.
Dictionary of Theatre Critics and Publicists
The research project Dictionary of Theatre Critics and Publicists provides encyclopedic biographical entries on individuals associated with theatre journalism in Slovakia.
The dictionary aims to cover the full chronological development of Slovak theatre criticism across the spectrum of theatrical forms. It is compiled and academically supervised by Prof. Vladimír Štefko, with entries authored by a team of internal and external contributors.
The online version contains 192 entries that can be continuously updated. In 2025, it was also published in book form (Dictionary of Theatre Critics and Publicists), featuring an expanded introduction by Vladimír Štefko and graphic design by Ondrej Gavalda.
A review of the publication is available within the project Slovak Centre of AICT – Monitoring of Theatre Literature.
Theatre Walks
The Theatre Walks project, combining research and public engagement, offers thematic routes through various Slovak cities, allowing users to follow in the footsteps of prominent figures of Slovak theatre.
Aimed at preserving cultural memory and disseminating it through digital technologies, the project is the result of several years of research conducted by a large team under the auspices of the Theatre Research Centre of the Theatre Institute.
Each virtual walk includes several thematic categories: theatres (historic buildings and institutions), schools, cafés and restaurants, memorial buildings (birthplaces and residences), significant locations (streets and squares), artistic monuments (sculptures, reliefs, busts, commemorative plaques), and notable personalities (artists and cultural figures).
The stops are arranged at optimal distances, forming routes that can be explored either virtually—through 360-degree panoramic views—or physically, directly in the streets, using the platform’s mobile interface.
During the walk, users also discover lesser-known facts related to artistic life or specific historical theatre figures.
Golden Collection of Slovak Professional Theatre
The Golden Collection of Slovak Professional Theatre aims to highlight the remarkable achievements of Slovak theatre-makers through a selection of the finest productions created during the century of Slovak professional theatre.
The project seeks to cover the best works across all theatrical forms and genres—drama, opera, ballet, puppet theatre, pantomime, contemporary dance, and musical theatre. It focuses on productions that resonated not only in their time but have left a lasting legacy in the history of Slovak performing arts.
The Presence of Theatre History
Within the project The Presence of Theatre History, the Theatre Institute has produced interactive multimedia DVDs designed to present theatre history in a modern and engaging way to a broad audience.
Through landmark productions that significantly influenced theatre history, the project showcases the richness of the Theatre Institute’s archival, museum, and documentation collections, as well as methods of preserving theatrical heritage.
The Theatre Institute released three interactive DVDs: Herodes and Herodias (2013), The Forest (2014), and Bačova žena (2017), compiling archival materials on all Slovak professional productions of works by Hviezdoslav, Ostrovsky, and Stodola. Their content has since been transferred to an online platform, making the project accessible to the public.
Anthropo(s)cene: Environmental Issues, Ecological Thinking and Sustainability in Slovak Theatre
The long-term project Anthropo(s)cene focused on researching Slovak theatre—its themes, operations, and practices—in relation to environmental sustainability and theoretical approaches examining the relationship between humans and nature.
It addressed two main areas: ecological and environmental themes in Slovak theatre, and the possibilities for making theatre operations more sustainable.
In 2022, a colloquium titled Man in Conflict with Nature: Environmental Issues, Ecological Thinking and Coexistence with the Natural World in Slovak Theatre was held under the direction of Miloslav Juráni. The contributions were published in 2023.
The second phase of the project, Sustainability and the Circular Model in Theatre Practice, resulted in the e-book Principles of Sustainability and Circular Economy Applicable to Theatre in Slovakia (Guide).
Slovak Drama in Translation
This project maps the work of selected Slovak playwrights and brings together translations of their plays in one place. It spans several generations—from authors of the 1970s (Osvald Záhradník, Ján Solovič), through those who introduced new poetics into Slovak drama (Karol Horák, Stanislav Štepka, Milan Lasica), to the middle generation (Silvester Lavrík, Viliam Klimáček, Eva Maliti-Fraňová), and the youngest generation (Michaela Zakuťanská).
Each playwright’s profile includes a short professional biography, a photograph, selected works, and downloadable translations in PDF format. The collected material exists both as a representative CD-ROM and primarily as a website Slovak drama.
The project features nearly one hundred dramatic texts in various languages—English, German, French, Russian, Hungarian, Italian, as well as Estonian and Arabic. The working language of the website is English.
It forms part of the long-term activities of the Theatre Institute Bratislava, aimed at promoting Slovak drama and theatre abroad, facilitating international access and offering direct reading of texts.
TANZMESSE Düsseldorf
The Theatre Institute regularly participates in the international dance fair internationale tanzmesse nrw in Düsseldorf, Germany.
80 Years of Nová scéna Theatre
The Theatre Research Centre, in cooperation with Nová scéna Theatre, is preparing a scholarly publication marking the theatre’s 80th anniversary.
The publication maps the entire history of the theatre, covering musical theatre, drama, operetta, and productions for children and youth. It will include photographs and comprehensive production lists compiled in collaboration with the Theatre Documentation Centre of the Theatre Institute.
