Nová dráma/New Drama Festival 2020: dates change
The Theatre Institute, as the organizer of the 2020 Nová dráma/New Drama festival of contemporary drama, has decided to postpone the dates of the festival from the original 11-16 May 2020 to a later date in autumn 2020. The organizer will inform about the specific dates soon.
In connection with the measures aimed at collective prevention against the coronavirus (Covid-19), the Theatre Institute, as the organizer of the 2020 Nová dráma/New Drama festival of contemporary drama, has decided to postpone the event until autumn 2020 for safety reasons. “We do not take the current situation lightly, which is why we have taken into account all relevant factors and decided to postpone the 2020 Nová dráma/New Drama festival until autumn 2020 – it seems most likely that it will take place in October 2020,” said Vladislava Fekete, director of the Theatre Institute.
The date change will also affect the international conference and congress of theatre critics
This year’s Nová dráma/New Drama festival is going to be an exciting event also because it will be closely interconnected with an international conference and a congress of theatre critics associated under the AICT network. The international conference and congress are also put off until autumn 2020. “Because the conference in Bratislava is expected to host more than a hundred guests from all over the world, we have decided to postpone the conference and congress until autumn. It is a preventive measure primarily aimed at reducing the risk of coronavirus transmission. The mentioned events will be accompanied by the announced showcase of Slovak theatre,” Vladislava Fekete said.
Apart from the changed dates of the event, the visitors will not notice any other changes. During the 2020 Nová dráma/New Drama festival, eight productions – that have already been announced – will be presented. The five members of the dramaturgy board chose the finalists from among 72 theatre productions that premiered between 1 February 2019 and 31 January 2020.
About Nová dráma/New Drama 2020 festival
The sixteenth festival, organized by the Theatre Institute, will take place in autumn 2020 in Bratislava. Eight productions were chosen by the dramaturgy board for the festival’s main programme – the productions will compete for three festival prizes. An international jury will decide on the main award – the Grand Prix of the Nová dráma/New Drama 2020 festival for best production. Participants of the young critics’ seminar, students of arts and humanities universities, will award the Student Jury Award. The production with the most votes from the audiences will receive the Bratislava Audience Award. The awards will be awarded during the official ceremony held at the end of the festival.
This year, the Focus programme section addresses the contemporary drama and theatre of Austria. During the Theory Event, a lecture on contemporary Austrian theatre and drama, a publication will be launched – a book containing the translation of three current Austrian plays into Slovak.German playwright and director Falk Richter will be the festival’s patron. He will also lead the masterclass for Slovak theatremakers.
Up-to-date information about the festival will be regularly published at www.novadrama.sk and also at Facebook.