Divadelná Nitra is alive. The jubilee festival edition closes with considerable audience interest

The 35th annual International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra ends today. Its main programme indoors drew together over 2,500 spectators. The 5 Festival days brought 8 productions from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine, 2 world premières of Slovak independent ensembles, as well as 13 events within the accompanying and working programmes.

Divadelná Nitra in figures 

• 5 days of the Festival
• 8 productions within the main programme
• 3 countries – Czech Republic, Ukraine and Slovakia
• 2 world premières of Slovak independent ensembles within the main programme
• 8 young critics from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Slovakia within the V4@Theatre Critics Residency programme and 2 lecturers from Germany and Croatia
• 2,500+ spectators in the main programme indoor
• 13 events in the accompanying and working programmes

The 2026 Festival edition was guided by the leitmotif The Future is Now! It opened with the performance of Macbeth by The Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre from Kyiv, as directed by Ivan Uryvsky. The Ukrainian production also had a symbolic dimension as Ukraine commemorates 35 years of restored independence. "Ukraine lives, creates, remembers and fights," said the representative of the Ukrainian Embassy, Mariia Cholach at the Festival opening. She pointed out that culture is one of the most powerful expressions of freedom, identity and the right to speak in one's own voice.

Uryvsky's Macbeth also opened a theme that has been appearing throughout the programme: how the image of reality is created and what role manipulation plays in it. Giant tablets controlled by cranes in the production become a dominant set design element, as well as a contemporary equivalent of Shakespeare's three witches. In his reflection, theatre specialist Petr KlariN Klár called the production a "dense, precisely reduced version of Shakespeare's Macbeth" that draws attention to the "destructive power of the fake news phenomenon".

The festival as a place where new works are created 

Two world premières were brought within the programme section Just Created. The Festival presented cerebrum fēlix by the Uhol_92 collective and Aria for the Poisoner by the Schwarzes Loch Europas group. Both productions emerged within Slovak independent scene. Divadelná Nitra thus became both a place to present finished works and a space for their creation.

The support of independent production was one of the crucial moments of the jubilee edition. The Just Created section that Divadelná Nitra introduced in 2025 also showed that the Festival can be more than a mere showcase of ready-made productions: it has become a co-producer and partner in the creative process.

The accompanying programme also featured the project Násobenie sebou / t o g e t h e r n e s s  created in collaboration with the Association Divadelná Nitra, the festival Konvergencie, and the Dance Studio Theatre. The performance drew the audience straight into the action and created an experience of connection through music, movement and shared space.

The multimedia performance Paper Dream with the Lumenia Open Lab workshop offered spectators a unique visual–acoustic experience over three evenings at Svätopluk Square.

The Festival also included the international V4@Theatre Critics Residency. Led by Stefan Tigges from Germany and Darko Lukić from Croatia it brought together eight young critics from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Slovakia. The Festival created a space for face-to-face encounter between artists and audiences, as well as for international exchange of views on contemporary theatre.

The future is the result of today's decisions 

"I don't see this festival edition as a celebration of having overcome all the challenges. Rather, I consider it a proof that culture bears its meaning even when circumstances are not in its favour. We need it to see the world from a different perspective, to talk about things that are difficult to talk about, to even imagine a future. For, as Macbeth reminds us, it is that the future is not an abstract something somewhere ahead of us. It arises from our decisions today," says Anna Šimončičová, the new director of the Festival.

Macbeth has sometimes given rise to superstition:  in British theatres, his name is supposedly not proclaimed so as not to bring bad luck. Instead, it is called "the Scottish play". Still, at Divadelná Nitra, it sent out the opposite signal. The 35th jubilee Festival edition closes with sizeable audience interest – the main programme indoors drew in over 2,500 spectators.

Themes of freedom, identity, self-worth, happiness, manipulation, and the need for interconnectedness emerged over the course of five days in productions, discussions and accompanying projects. The jubilee edition showed that, even after 35 years, the Divadelná Nitra is the place where new works are not only created, but also where the future of theatre is contemplated together with the audience.

"The attendance was a huge encouragement for us from the very first moment. Above all, however, it reassured us that artists, their works, and the themes they bring with them have an audience. Free culture needs an open auditorium. It needs people who show up, listen, ask questions, disagree, debate, and stay together even when the answers aren't simple," adds Šimončičová.

A Successful Edition, an Uncertain Future

This year, the festival took place despite the loss of support from the Slovak Arts Council, which had been its main financial partner for many years. Without more stable support and financial certainty for the team, however, there is a risk that the 36th edition of the festival may not happen.

The Association Divadelná Nitra emphasizes that the successful execution of this anniversary edition does not automatically mean its future is secured. On the contrary, its continuation will be decided in the coming months. While the festival relies on public interest and partner support, it depends first and foremost on the team of people who prepare it year after year.

“This edition showed that in times of crisis—which both Slovak culture and the festival are facing—we are not alone. It showed sincere interest from the professional public, the openness of partners who helped us search for solutions, and above all, the determination of a large number of people to take action so that culture in Slovakia can continue to develop freely,” says Anna Šimončičová.

Thus, the 35th anniversary edition demonstrated two things at once: Divadelná Nitra has its audience and, even under challenging conditions, is capable of organizing an international festival featuring new artistic work, a high-quality program, and a broad spectrum of collaboration. At the same time, it is clear that without stable conditions, the 36th edition may not take place.