SIBIU INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL

Sibiu International Theatre Festival, the most important annual performing arts festival in Romania and the third in the world in terms of magnitude and relevance, offers a program that gathers in Sibiu participants from over 70 countries, presents over 350 events taking place in 60 different venues, and expects over 60,000 spectators daily. Leading performing arts companies, Romanian and foreign directors, critics, operators of local and regional cultural tourism, foreign cultural operators, tens of thousands of spectators from the local, regional and international community meet in Sibiu to celebrate, over the course of ten days, the artistic creation and creativity in a cultural event aimed at promoting internationally recognized cultural values. The 19 th edition of Sibiu International Theatre Festival runs between 25 May and 3 June 2012. Sibiu has always been a place for the spectacular. As recognition of its cultural excellence, the city was granted the title of European Capital of Culture in 2007. The 19th edition of Sibiu International Theatre Festival continues the tradition of outstanding cultural offers. This years calendar of events is particularly rich and varied, offering the audiences representative productions of the major Romanian and foreign companies, street performances in the old city, the citadels and the medieval fortifications around Sibiu; theatre and dance performances, flamenco, ballet, contemporary dance, puppet shows, circus, light shows, music, pantomime, conferences, debates, photography and painting exhibitions, book launches, installations and workshops, events hosted in both conventional and nonconventional venues, transforming the city into a veritable cultural capital of the world. Every year, the festival publishes a considerable number of volumes, including an anthology of texts outlining the theme of the festival and an anthology of contemporary plays, which are presented in the reading performances section. Both volumes contain bilingual texts. This year, for the first time, Sibiu will host the editorial meeting of the International Association Theatre Critics, as well as the Seminar of the Young Managers in partnership with the European Theatres Association. Sibiu International Theatre Festival has already created a tradition of international theatrical event, in a community that knows that festivals (including theatre, jazz, folklore, and photography and film festivals) can improve the quality of life, education, and the local economy, as well as the local prestige and the cultural representation of places. Theatre Premiere Performances Event performances

Heritage performances Independent theatre Dance Music Street performances Books Movies Photo Visual Arts Platform Performances in churches and historical sites Play -Reading performances and radio theatre Conferences and seminars Meeting of Theatre Schools and Academies Workshops Sibiu Performing Arts Open Market International Volunteering Program

19 years ago, an initiative group led by Constantin Chiriac, actor of the Radu Stanca Theatre of Sibiu, decided to restore the lost glory of the city by organizing a theatre festival. In his action, he was supported by personalities of the Romanian culture (Nicolae Manolescu, Marina Constantinescu, Cristina Dumitrescu), by theatre personalities from Romania (Silviu Purcrete, Tompa Gbor, Victor Ioan Frunz ) and abroad (Prof. Kenneth Campbell Artistic Director at The Blue Ridge Theatre Festival, professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University, USA, Prof. Noel Witts Director of Studies, De Montfort University, Leicester, G.B., and others). The first edition 1993 did not benefit from sufficient funds for the guests food and accommodation in hotels from Sibiu. It was March and there were snow drifts. For many who had never seen snow but in movies, Romania seemed a fascinating country. The guests carried garlic in their pockets, to protect themselves from vampires. However, the great performances of the Romanian theatre and of the theatres invited from abroad gave the Festival the quality of a remarkable event in the international cultural landscape.

After 1989 (the end of the Communist Regime), theatre was financially censored, most often ignored by a centralist critique, avoided by chroniclers whose publications had no money for traveling it seemed that the provincial theatre was forever condemned to provincialism. However, Sibiu did not disappear from the theatrical map, but, on the contrary, it became more present and well known in Europe. Thus, in the spring of 1994, the ambitious Young Professional Theatre Festival began in the first theatre hall from Central Europe, built 400 years ago. Because of its ambiguity, the title did not please the organizers anymore. The second edition of the Festival was structured in four sections. The publics reaction mostly young people showed how much Sibiu and Romania needed high quality theatre. The most important performances of theatres across the country could be seen due to Sibiu Young Professional Theatre Festival. All the performances of the first Sibiu Festival were free, no tickets were sold. It was a wonderful opportunity for the residents of Sibiu, especially students, to spend indefinite time in the theatre. Large groups of people flocked at the hall entrance, where the surprised gatekeepers tried to let the official guests and participants first, before the battle for the remaining seats started. The Festival has achieved continuity: now, it is well known from America to Japan, and it has become an institution with a very well defined personality and culture. If in 1993 representatives from only two countries (the Republic of Moldavia and Romania) participated, in 1994 the year when the first edition of the Festival was officially declared, the number of the participating countries increased to eight, and the next two editions were attended by guests from 21 and 24 countries, respectively. In 2000, on the occasion of the seventh edition, a record number of participating countries was registered, representatives from 54 countries coming to the Festival. In 2005, the 12 th edition was attended by 2000 participants from 68 countries around the world, who prepared the cultural agenda for the Sibiu European Capital of Culture Programme - 2007. The year 2007 marks an exceptional edition of the Festival: in recognition of this events contribution to the title of ECC, together with Luxembourg and the Greater Region, this special edition brought together more than 2,500 guests from 70 countries. In 2010, the Festival reached its upper limit: all tickets were sold out in advance, and the scheduled events took place indoors, in the city squares and pedestrian area. The programme of the 2010 edition of Sibiu International Theatre Festival also included, for the first time in the history of a festival in Romania, a Heritage section, which, in its turn, featured the most representative performances of Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu. Each edition of the Festival centers on topics of great contemporary interest: Tolerance 1999, Violence 1996, Cultural Identity 1997, Ties 1998, Creativity 1999, Alternatives 2000, Challenges 2001, Bridges 2002, Tomorrow 2003, Heritages 2004, Signs 2005, Together?! 2006, Next 2007, Energies 2008, Innovations 2009, Questions 2010, Communities 2011, Crisis. Culture makes a difference 2012.

Over time, Sibiu International Theatre Festival has built an impressive guests portfolio, which includes companies such as: AGENCY CULTURE-EUROPE, AKTIONTHEATRE PAN OPTIKUM, ARTE Y PUREZA FLAMENCO COMPANY, CARROS DE FOC, COMPAGNIE CARABOSSE, COMPAGNIE MOSSOUX-BONT, COMPAGNIE OPOSITO, COMPAGNIE PAL FRENAK, COMPAGNIE TRANSE EXPRESS, COMPAIA FLAMENCA ADRIAN SANCHEZ, DEUTSCHES THEATER BERLIN, HEISEINAKAMURA-ZA, INBAL PINTO, THEATRE DE LA VILLE, INTERNATIONAL STANISLAVSKY FOUNDATION, ISTANBUL MUNICIPALITY THEATRE, KARNAVIRES, KIBBUTZ CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY, LA SALAMANDRE, LES BALLETS JAZZ DE MONTREAL, MALABAR, ODIN TEATRET, MARJANISHVILI STATE DRAMA THEATRE, MENO FORTAS NEKROSIUS THEATRE COMPANY, MIHO PROJECT, MOTIONHOUSE, NADINE BOMMER DANCE COMPANY, PAPPA TARAHUMARA, PLASTICIENS VOLANTS, POLSKI THEATR TANCA-POZNAN BALLET, QUANZHOU MARIONETTE TROUPE, RAFAELA CARRASCO, SCHAUSPIELHAUS ZRICH, SHEKETAK, TEATR NOVOGO FRONTA, TEATR WIERSZALIN, TEATRO DE LA ABADIA, TEATRO STABILE NAPOLI, THE CAMERI THEATRE OF TEL AVIV, THE ISRAEL BALLET, THE ISRAELI OPERA & THE SUZANNE DELLAL CENTRE, THEATRE NATIONAL BRUXELLES, THTRE DESCH, TRANSE EXPRESS, TRETEAUX DU COEUR VOLANT, VERTIGO DANCE COMPANY, YAMANOTE JIJOSHA, BURGTHEATER WIEN a. s. o..

Through the Festival, the city of Sibiu has become a window to Europe. People must take advantage of what happens here. (GEORGE BANU, theatre critic) Walking on the pedestrian area, I had the real feeling that theatre is the power of joy. This place is in continuous celebration. (EUGENIO BARBA, director and playwright) For me, this festival uncovered a dynamic theatrical movement in Romania, a place where this art has become a lifestyle. (DERBESSE TRINITA-EVANGELISTA, UNESCO)