Nine Productions Competing for the Grand Prix: New Drama / Nová dráma Festival 2026
The New Drama / Nová dráma Contemporary Drama Festival has announced the selection of productions competing for the prestigious Grand Prix New Drama / Nová dráma 2026 award. The festival organiser, the Theatre Institute, has also confirmed the festival dates: the event will take place from 11 to 15 May 2026 in Bratislava.
The main programme will feature nine productions of contemporary drama created by both publicly funded and independent professional theatres.
Selection Process
Over the past year and at the beginning of the current one, the festival’s dramaturgical board attended premieres of productions across Slovakia. The final selection includes works whose premieres took place between 1 February 2025 and 31 January 2026.
The selection was made by:
- Tamara Vajdíková (theatre critic)
- Viera Bartková (aesthetician and art historian)
- Marek Godovič (theatre scholar and dramaturg)
Together, they evaluated more than ninety productions.
Statements from the Dramaturgical Board
Tamara Vajdíková:
“The selection of the festival programme emerged during a challenging period marked by changes and restrictions affecting both everyday life and artistic creation. We decided to focus on nine titles that respond to current social issues and individual human stories.”
Marek Godovič:
“We were particularly interested in how different social groups perceive and articulate contemporary phenomena. Our choice reflects an effort to capture a broad generational spectrum of creators whose work resonated on Slovak stages and has the potential to engage international cultural audiences.”
Viera Bartková:
“We aimed for the selection to present a wide range of theatrical poetics and formal experimentation in both independent theatre and institutional stages. At the same time, we would like to acknowledge the effort and energy of all creators of the more than ninety productions created in an unfavourable economic situation and an atmosphere of uncertainty.”
Productions Nominated for the Grand Prix New Drama / Nová dráma 2026
Adam Dragun: ALEX
(directed by: Adam Dragun)
Project Batyskaf in co-production with ARCHA+
Elfriede Jelinek: Endsieg: The Second Coming
(directed by: Dávid Paška)
Small Stage Theatre
Katja Brunner: Ghosts Are Only Human
(directed by: Kamila Polívková)
Slovak National Theatre
team of authors: Let’s Demand the Impossible
(directed by: Šimon Ferstl)
DPM Theatre in collaboration with the Academy of Performing Arts
Uršula Kovalyk: Medusa in the Kitchen
(directed by: Uršula Kovalyk)
Theatre With No Home
Michal Ditte: OTA
(directed by: Júlia Rázusová)
Jozef Gregor Tajovský Theatre
Slavka Civáňová: She Left Behind a Beautiful Garden
(directed by: Iveta Ditte Jurčová)
Pôtoň Theatre and Without a Stage
Anna Klimešová, Boris Jedinák, et al.: Tartuffe
(directed by: Anna Klimešová)
Slovak Chamber Theatre Martin
Rastislav Ballek – Mário Drgoňa: Text Lajčiak
(directed by: Rastislav Ballek)
P. O. Hviezdoslav Theatre
Festival Theme: Human Dignity
The new director of the New Drama / Nová dráma Festival, Dária Fojtíková Fehérová, commented on this year’s competition selection:
“If we were to identify a unifying thematic line of this year’s main programme, it would be the question of preserving human dignity. The productions address care for seniors, violence against women, the marginalisation of certain social groups, as well as the way our society treats moral and intellectual authorities. Contemporary drama has the ability to address these themes openly, sensitively, and in dialogue with today’s audiences.”
Festival Dates and Award
The selected productions will be presented in the main programme during the week starting on 11 May 2026.
The winning production, awarded the Grand Prix New Drama / Nová dráma 2026, will be announced at the closing ceremony on 15 May 2026.
Further information about the festival programme will be published at www.novadrama.sk.
About the Festival
NEW DRAMA / NOVÁ DRÁMA is a nationwide competitive festival of contemporary Slovak and international drama, held annually since 2005. Organised by the Theatre Institute, the festival serves as a platform for presentation, reflection, and international exchange in contemporary theatre.
The festival is also a key showcase of Slovak theatre for international professionals and guests. While previous editions included a rich accompanying programme—such as lectures, conferences, discussions, exhibitions, staged readings, and masterclasses—this year, due to a consolidated budget, the festival will reduce the scope of accompanying events and focus primarily on the main competition programme.
