The May celebration of contemporary drama – the 2025 Nová dráma/New Drama festival – will bring great theatre experiences and new impulses
(Bratislava, 29 April 2025) The Theatre Institute, as the main organizer of the 2025 Nová dráma/New Drama festival of contemporary drama, has introduced the event’s main and accompanying festival programmes. The festival will take place from 12 until 17 May 2025 in Bratislava and will present a selection of the best works in contemporary drama and theatre from the previous year. The festival will also include several accompanying events. The patron of the 21st festival is the Irish playwright Marina Carr.
This year’s patron will officially open the festival during the opening ceremony on Monday. The next day, on May 13, she will lead her public masterclass for the public in Studio 12. “Marina Carr is a world famous playwright with a unique writing style. In her works she often uses symbolism and mythology, emphasizing the psychological depth of the characters while exploring generational trauma and destructive family patterns. We will surely discuss these issues during her masterclass, which will be interpreted into Slovak,” said Vladislava Fekete, director of the festival and the Theatre Institute. Fekete also reminded visitors that the entry in the masterclass is free upon registration, though dependent on the capacity of Studio 12. “The masterclass will also include a presentation of the anthology of Carr’s dramatic texts entitled Love and Parting, which was recently published by the Theatre Institute,” said Fekete.
The main programme will feature theatres from Prešov, Košice, Martin, Žilina, and Bratislava
From Monday till Friday, the main programme will feature the work of a number of theatres, associations and individual artists, such as Batyskaf, Theatre on the Platform, City Theatre Žilina, Peter Mazalán, Drama Department of the Slovak National Theatre (two nominated productions), Slovak Chamber Theatre Martin, Tears of Janko Borodáč, and Uhol_92. At the end of the festival, one of the main programme productions will be awarded the Grand Prix of the 2025 Nová dráma/New Drama. “As we announced earlier, out of the original ten productions nominated for the main programme and the Grand Prix, one will not be presented in Bratislava this year. It is a production of Uhol_92, the theatre company that received two nominations this year, but due to its main protagonist’s international residency it will only be able to present one of the two productions selected by our dramaturgy board. As a result, a total of nine productions will compete for the main award,” Vladislava Fekete explained, adding: “If you want to find out more about the selection, take part in the discussion Theatre in the Time of Pamphlets, during which the dramaturgy board will present its nominations.” The productions nominated for the Grand Prix of the 2025 Nová dráma/New Drama festival were selected by theatrologist Karol Mišovic, theatre dramaturg and critic Alexandra Rychtarčíková, and theatre critic Ivana Topitkalová. They made their selection from more than eighty works.
Press conference 29. 4. 2025, photo by Tibor Géci
The accompanying programme is focused on contemporary Georgian drama
The accompanying programme aims to address not only the general public, but also performing artists, scholars and researchers. This is why the programme includes an international scholarly conference whose focus will be artificial intelligence in the arts. At the end of the conference, the dance group AΦE (United Kingdom) will perform a choreography generated by AI. An essential part of the accompanying programme is the Focus section – this year’s area of interest being Georgia. “The historical context and the present diversity of Georgian drama will be introduced at the Theory Event by Professor Lela Ochiauri, head of the Department of Film Criticism and Theory at the Professor at Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University in Tbilisi. Professor Ochiauri is also a member of this year’s festival jury. Held in Studio 12, the Theory Event will also feature a discussion between Professor Ochiauri and Georgian playwrights Lasha Bugadze and Data Tavadze about their theatre work, accompanied by excerpts from the new Georgian Drama collection, translated by Andrea Adamovičová and presented in the form of stage reading,” said Dominika Zaťková, the executive director of the Nová dráma/New Drama festival.
Zaťková also mentioned another, traditional part of the festival: “Each year, as part of the New Drama – New Impulses section, an outstanding international theatre event is given the chance to present itself to the festival audience. This year, it is the International Theatre Festival Sibiu that will be introduced by the member of this year’s jury Octavian Saiu, the founder and president of the International Association of Theatre Leaders (IATL).” “Afterwards, Saiu will interview our guest, the Austrian director and performer Anna Luca Krassnigg,” said Zaťková. The three-member festival jury is made complete by Dorota Buchwald, a theatre scholar from the Theatre Institute of Zbygniew Raszewski.
Zaťková believes that the event known as the Triathlon can also be very attractive for the public. “Stage readings of texts shortlisted for the best dramatic texts competition written in Slovak or Czech, DRAMA 2024, will once again take place in the Blue Salon of the Slovak National Theatre. The stage readings will be performed by theatre professionals. On the same day, on Saturday, we will get to know the results not only of this competition, but also which production will win the Grand Prix of the 2025 Nová dráma/New Drama festival,” concluded Zaťková.
The festival is a showcase competition of Slovak theatre works intended for Slovak audiences and international guests
“The festival connects our theatre professionals with international partners. This year, the Nice to Meet You event will also become a platform for presenting our theatre artists, whose work has been nominated for the main programme, to international festival audiences. Guests from around the world will be able to get to know our theatre makers in a pleasant and informal atmosphere, learn more about contemporary theatre in Slovakia, and establish contacts and collaborations. All productions in the main programme will be presented with English subtitles,” Vladislava Fekete explains. The accompanying events will be interpreted into Slovak.
The full programme can be found at novadrama.sk. The festival, enjoying its twenty years of existence, is traditionally held under the auspices of the mayor of the capital city – this is also the case in 2025. The festival is held under the auspices of Matúš Vallo, the mayor of Bratislava – the capital city of the Slovak Republic. Audience votes will earn one of the festival productions the Bratislava Audience Award.
The festival team wishes to thank the partner theatres, including the Slovak National Theatre, P*AKT – Cultural Centre, House of Culture Zrkadlový háj, A4 – Space for Contemporary Culture, and the festival partners: HAUERLAND.SK / KVETINÁREŇ.SK / SLOVENSKÝ FILMOVÝ ÚSTAV / DRAMOX
Thanks go also to the media partners: RÁDIO DEVÍN / TASR / PRAVDA / PLAN.ART / IN.BA / BRATISLAVSKÉ NOVINY / ART & HISTORY MAGAZINE / KøD – KONKRÉTNE ø DIVADLE / GREGI.NET / CITYLIFE.SK.
New Drama festival is organized by the Theatre Institute. The Theatre Institute is a state contributory organization under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.
