The contemporary drama festival Nová dráma/New Drama, which has been one of the most significant theatre events in Slovakia for more than two decades, will not take place in its usual format in May 2026. The festival’s organiser, the Theatre Institute, has been forced to modify the festival’s programme structure due to a recent budget reduction imposed by its founder, the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. As a result, the main programme—the competitive showcase of the most compelling productions of contemporary drama by Slovak professional theatres—will not be held this year.
Since September of last year, the festival’s Dramaturgical Board has been visiting theatres across Slovakia and, over the course of five months, has viewed more than ninety productions. Nine productions from both state-funded and independent theatres from various regions of Slovakia were selected for the main programme. These selected works reflect a wide range of pressing contemporary themes, including society’s relationship to moral and intellectual authorities, the overlooking or marginalising of certain groups, violence against women, and care for the elderly.
The productions were scheduled to be presented during the festival week in Bratislava to the general public, professional audiences, and international guests. An international jury was to select the winner of the festival’s main award, the Grand Prix. This part of the festival will not take place. “I see the festival as a unique platform for new theatre, young people, and a vibrant dialogue between artists and audiences. All the more, I regret that we are unable to offer its full format this year,” said the festival’s honorary director, actress Zuzana Kronerová.
Despite this situation, the festival’s organising team continues to prepare a professional programme entitled New Drama Fragments. Drawing on the festival’s visual identity—featuring a flag as a symbol of the autonomy of creative practice and thought—the concept of “fragments” represents smaller units within a larger whole, symbolising islands of activity that make it possible to endure despite adverse circumstances.
New Drama Fragments programme will include:
- a masterclass by Czech director and playwright Petr Zelenka,
- an international conference entitled Theatre and Civic Dialogue,
- Trojboj – the finale of the DRÁMA 2025 competition,
- a discussion with the festival’s Dramaturgical Board on contemporary theatre.
The full programme and further information are available at www.novadrama.sk.
The organising team believes that, even in this limited format, it will be possible to maintain the continuity of the festival and to create a space for professional reflection and for meetings within the theatre community. Thank you for your understanding and support.
The international conference
The Theatre Institute in Bratislava announces a call for papers for the international conference THEATRE AND CIVIC DIALOGUE which will take place during the 22nd edition of the NOVÁ DRÁMA/NEW DRAMA 2026 festival.
Since ancient Greece, theatre has served as an open platform for artistic expression, reflecting issues of interpersonal relationships, values, responsibility, and the functioning of society. It allows the audience to see different perspectives and promotes public dialogue within the safe and aesthetic framework of an artistic experience. Unlike other art forms, it is unique in its topicality, liveliness, authenticity, and its immediate contact with the audience. It responds to social stimuli, historical events, and current issues of its time. As a publicly accessible art form, it creates space for interpretation, reflection, and consideration of the individual's position as a citizen, as well as the role and boundaries of art in society.
The conference aims to open a professional discussion on the relationship between theatre and the democratic environment, the extent of its social engagement, the responsibility of cultural institutions towards their founders, the autonomy of artistic creation, and the role of theatre in the public sphere. Contributions from the fields of theatre studies, aesthetics, cultural studies, and theatre practice that reflect on historical and contemporary forms of the relationship between theatre and society in a broader European context are welcome.
Conference topics:
- Art as part of public discourse: plurality of opinions and culture of dialogue
- Comparative perspectives on the position of artists in civil society
- Public funding of art and its social responsibility: balancing public interest and creative freedom
- Historical and theoretical perspectives on socially engaged theatre
Applications for the conference, together with an abstract, must be sent by March 1, 2026, to konferencia@theatre.sk. Participants will be informed of the selection of their contributions by March 15, 2026. The conference languages are Slovak and English. The festival offers selected participants accommodation for three nights and tickets to all festival events. Competitive performances are subtitled in English. The conference chair is Dária Fojtíková Fehérová, PhD., director of the festival.
The conference will take place on May 13, 2026.
Application for the conference (DOCX, 60kB)
The Nová dráma/New Drama Festival is a competitive showcase of contemporary drama productions staged by professional theaters in Slovakia over the past year. The festival's dramaturgical board is responsible for the competitive selection, and an international jury decides on the awards. The festival includes professional and presentation events that highlight the themes and forms of contemporary theatre. The 22nd edition of the festival will take place from May 11 to 15, 2026, in Bratislava.
Nine Productions Competing for the Grand Prix
This is the selection of productions competing for the prestigious Grand Prix New Drama / Nová dráma 2026 award.The main programme will feature nine contemporary drama productions created by both institutional and independent professional theatres.
Over the past year and at the beginning of the current one, the festival’s dramaturgical board attended premieres of productions across Slovakia. The selection includes titles whose premieres took place between 1 February 2025 and 31 January 2026.
The selection was prepared by theatre critic Tamara Vajdíková, aesthetician and art historian Viera Bartková, and theatre scholar and dramaturg Marek Godovič, who assessed more than ninety productions.
Tamara Vajdíková:
“The festival programme selection emerged during a challenging period of change and restrictions affecting both everyday life and artistic creation. We decided to focus on nine titles responding to current social issues and individual human stories.”
Marek Godovič:
“We were interested in the perspectives of different social groups on contemporary phenomena. Our selection reflects an effort to capture a generational spectrum of creators whose work resonated on Slovak stages and has the potential to appeal to international cultural audiences.”
Viera Bartková:
“We also sought to ensure that the selection presents a range of theatrical poetics and formal experimentation found today in both independent culture and repertory theatres. At the same time, we would like to acknowledge the effort and energy of the creators of all more than ninety productions, created in an unfavourable economic situation and an atmosphere of uncertainty. Thank you.”
We look forward to welcoming you in May 2026 — come and discover new themes, new productions, and new faces of contemporary theatre!
Productions Nominated for the Grand Prix
- 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
The competition productions will be presented in the main programme during the week of 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.
All programme information will be gradually published at www.novadrama.sk.
Dária Fojtíková Fehérová Appointed New Festival Director
The New Drama / Nová dráma Festival has a new director. Since October 2025, the position has been held by Mgr. Dária Fojtíková Fehérová, PhD., a theatre critic and researcher specialising in contemporary Slovak theatre.
She studied Theatre Studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, completed supplementary pedagogical training focused on children’s drama education, and postgraduate studies at the Department of Aesthetics, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University.
She has long been active in theatre criticism, research into contemporary Slovak theatre, and the history of Slovak directing. Since 2022, she has led the Theatre Research Centre at the Theatre Institute and has collaborated with the New Drama / Nová dráma Festival since 2009. She is Vice-Chair of the Slovak Section of the International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT/IATC) and a member of its international executive committee.
“The New Drama / Nová dráma Festival aims to remain an expert platform addressing contemporary trends not only in theatre but also in society. I believe the 22nd edition will be a space for developing collaborations and fostering a living connection between audiences and the theatre community,” says the new festival director.
“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, and the way our society treats moral and intellectual authorities. Contemporary drama has the ability to articulate these themes openly, sensitively, and in dialogue with today’s audiences.”
Festival Dramaturgical Board 2026
The selection of productions for the main programme (premieres between 1 February 2025 and 31 January 2026) was made by the following experts:
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Viera Bartková
Viera Bartková studied Aesthetics, Slovak Language and Literature, and Art History, and completed doctoral studies in Cultural Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava. She undertook study stays in Budapest, Padua, and Rome. Since 2014, she has worked as an assistant professor at the Department of Aesthetics, where she also teaches theatre and visual art history at the University of the Third Age. Her research focuses on interdisciplinary and intercultural relations, visual dramaturgy, and art pedagogy. She reflects contemporary Slovak theatre and dance through scholarly studies and critical reviews.
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Tamara Vajdíková
Tamara Vajdíková completed her Master’s degree at the Department of Theatre Studies, Academy of Performing Arts (VŠMU) in 2023. She is currently a doctoral researcher at the Institute of Theatre and Film Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences. Her dissertation explores artificial aesthetics in theatre, particularly in relation to modern technologies. She publishes reviews in kød magazine and on the MLOKi platform, and since 2023 has coordinated the V4@Theatre Critics Residency project as part of the International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra.
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Marek Godovič
Marek Godovič graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava in Theatre Studies and Polish Studies, and from the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in Screenwriting and Dramaturgy. From 2011 to 2018, he worked as a dramaturg at Štúdio 12. He currently works at the Theatre Institute in the Centre for Theatre Documentation. He completed his PhD at the Department of Theatre Studies, VŠMU in 2017 and lectures externally on Polish theatre and drama. As a critic, he focuses on contemporary theatre and dance and regularly publishes in Slovak and Czech cultural platforms and academic journals. He is a member of the Slovak Centre of the Association of Theatre Critics and the editorial board of the journal Tanec.
