In the spring of 2015, the roundtable discussion that was held as part of MITEM on the functions, roles,

and artistic undertakings of national theatres met with considerable interest. We hope that this will be 

the case this year as well. The motivations that have given renewed life to national ars poeticas all over Europe have brought with them an array of increasingly innovative theatrical tools and approaches – perhaps, one might say, as a precondition of their survival. In addition, the aesthetic treasure chest of culture has been continuously growing, the treasure chest in which difference and diversity both edify and entertain. Individual cultures, even if geographically close to one another, bear something to which we should be very attentive in the distinctive music and subtly varied shades of expressive meaning of their languages, and it is this that unites the cultural world of Europe. Furthermore, it is important to acknowledge in our time that attentiveness is as much a matter of “intellectual” perception as it is the emotional enjoyment of performances that are expressive of the values of the individual nations.

• Participants in the roundtable: Stathis Livathinos (National Theatre of Greece, artistic director), Željko Hubač (Belgrade National Theatre, artistic director), Valery Fokin (Alexandrinksy Theatre in St. Petersburg, artistic director), Jorge Telerman (Complejo Teatral Buenos Aires, general director), Attila Vidnyánszky (Budapest National Theatre, director).

• Moderator: Ernő Verebes, main dramaturg of the Budapest National Theatre.

(14 March 2016)