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National Kaunas Drama Theatre Has Appeared on the Map of European Theatres
From 31 January to 2 February of this year, the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria, hosted a press conference and a meeting of the partners of the theatre platform PROSPERO NEW European Wave. The activities of the network for the next four years (2025–2028) were presented. The platform, which brings together European theatre leaders, provides an opportunity for the continent’s artists to forge closer relationships, share experiences, and develop joint projects.
The common goal is pursued by as many as 19 different European theatres and festivals: Théâtre de Liège (Belgium), Temporada Alta Festival (Spain), the Ivan Zajc Croatian National Drama Theatre (Croatia), the Dublin Theatre Festival (Ireland), Centro Cultural de Belém (Portugal), Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione (Italy), the Gothenburg Dance and Theatre Festival (Sweden), Festival d’Avignon (France), the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre (Ukraine), the Ivan Vazov National Theatre (Bulgaria), the National Kaunas Drama Theatre (Lithuania), the Prague National Theatre (Czech Republic), the National Theatre Gent (NTGent) (Belgium), the Onassis Stegi (Greece), Powszechny Theatre (Poland), Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz (Germany), the Sibiu International Theatre Festival (Romania), the Tbilisi International Theatre Festival (Georgia), Wiener Festwochen(Austria). The projects are coordinated by Théâtre de Liège.
During the press conference, the main goals of PROSPERO NEW European Wave were revealed: the introduction of promising theatre artists, the promotion of a joint creative process between different countries, and their invitation to international knowledge exchange. Over the next four years (2025–2028), PROSPERO NEW has planned more than 150 activities (60 international tours, 19 co-productions, 38 artist residencies, and 4 mentoring programmes for 40 artists from the network of partners), aiming at discovering emerging artists in theatre, mainly directors, and aiding them in gaining international fame. The project is expected to engage over 300 artists over the course of these four years.
The National Kaunas Drama Theatre was represented at the meeting by Rūta Malaškevičienė, the theatre’s Manager for Cultural Projects and Tourism, and Agnė Burovienė, Deputy General Director. They emphasised that the partnership offers significant opportunities for the theatre: ‘For quite a long time, we have been consistently exploring international theatre networks, seeking active and growth-oriented collaboration, as well as opportunities to exchange knowledge and practices with long-established European festivals and theatres. We are pleased to see that the National Kaunas Drama Theatre has appeared on the map of European theatres. At the same time, we take a responsible approach to our commitment to the European theatre community to present outstanding Lithuanian artists who have already established their style and recognition but are little known in Europe or are still searching for a unique art language. It should be noted that our commitment extends beyond merely presenting Lithuanian performing arts abroad through tours or residencies. We are equally dedicated to introducing European theatre to the Lithuanian audience. Over the next four years, we are committed to show three performances by our partners on the Kaunas’ stage and to contribute to one joint production, which will also be available to theatre enthusiasts in our country. PROSPERO NEW is a two-way road with meaningful new opportunities and accompanying responsibilities.’
Egidijus Stancikas, the theatre’s General Director, stated that being a part of such a progressive programme is the result of the theatre’s consistent work with international projects: ‘We have accumulated much international experience, starting with the collaboration with artists from Canada, France, Hungary, Norway, Iceland, Germany and, of course, a world-renowned director Robert Wilson and his solid international team during the year of “Kaunas 2022”. We feel the pulse of European theatre and are mature enough to recommend Lithuanian artists for important projects.’
Negotiations are currently underway, and details are being clarified regarding the tour of Powszechny Theatre’s (Warsaw, Poland) production of Mein Kampf on the Main Stage of the National Kaunas Drama Theatre, directed by one of the most famous Polish directors of the younger generation, Jakub Skrzywanek. It is also important to mention that conditions are being negotiated for the tour of the performance creator’s Dr. GoraParasit’s play Snow White at the Schaubühne Theatre in Germany. During the conference, the international residencies of a promising Lithuanian director in Gothenburg were also discussed, and the representatives of the Tbilisi International Festival were interested in the inclusion of the newest play The Card Index directed by G. Varnas based on the play by T. Różewicz in the festival’s programme.
The next partners’ meeting is scheduled to take place in July of this year in Avignon, France.
Prospero NEW is part of the Creative Europe programme and is co-funded by the European Union.
NKDT information
Photos by Stefan Zdraveski / Ivan Vazov National Theatre
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