Nová dráma /New Drama Festival in Bratislava

The 19th Nová dráma/New Drama took place in theatres based in Bratislava from 15 to 20 May 2023. Ten productions of Slovak and world drama took part in the competition for Grand Prix and other prestigious prizes. This year’s edition was associated with Theatre in Exile and the program brought popular accompanying events, workshops, lectures, conferences, and multimedia overlaps. The prizes were awarded at the gala ceremony on 20 May 2023.

Please go to Nová Dráma festival awards | Perform Czech to learn more about the awards.

Grand Prix Nová dráma/New Drama was traditionally chosen by the international jury. The festival attracted people from both Slovak and international artistic and audience communities. There were also participants in the young critics‘ seminar and arts and humanities students who decided about the Students‘ Jury Award. The Bratislava Audience Award was decided by those attending the performances.

This year’s patron was Swiss playwright Igor Bauersima, who actively participated in professional jury activities and held a masterclass on 16 May 2023 as part of the accompanying program. The co-head of the unique Avignon Off festival Harold David, a member of the international jury, presented the model of operation. The program section, Focus Ukraine, specialized in contemporary Ukrainian drama, and work in exile, started with a lecture by Ukrainian director Oleg Liptsin.

The dramaturgy board of Nová dráma/New Drama 2023 (including Zuzana Nemcová Gulíková – theatre critic and theatre researcher, Zuzana Andrejco Ferusová – theatre critic and theatre researcher, Jakub Mudrák – director) selected 10 shows out of 78 for this year’s edition.