5 October, 5 p.m.,
First Floor Lobby

The roundtable is in Serbian, with simultaneous interpretation into Hungarian.

Synergy - Roundtable Discussion

Under a new roof, but with the same ideas as before, the roundtable participants are members of the Synergy WTF Board:

Valentin Venczel - actor, founder of Synergy WTF, Novi Sad, Serbia – Budapest, Hungary

Irena Urbič - writer, publicist, minority researcher, Koper, Slovenia

Atilla Klinçe - actor, university professor, former Manager of the Turkish National Theatre in Skopje, Macedonia

Nada Kokotović - director, founder of Theater Kokotović - Osman (TKO), Cologne, Germany

Moderator: András Pataki - director, Budapest, Hungary

Synergy Festival in brief

Festival within a festival - Synergy within MITEM. The intellectual affinity between the two theatre meetings is no coincidence, as one is intended to reinforce the other. Notably, synergy is a state, a process in which the results of the associated cooperating entities exceed the sum of the results of individual participants. From the point of view of theatres, this systemic impact means minority theatres in their respective countries’ border zones are 'watchtowers' safeguarding their own linguistic and cultural identity while enriching themselves with the intellectual assets of the majority and providing useful responses to the questions of the majority culture. Over time, these interactions create novel and unique qualities, the legitimacy of which is expressed at enviable levels. Nevertheless, the minority spirit remains intact, only its flavour and 'spiciness' are enhanced along the way.

Synergy World Theatre Festival was founded in Novi Sad, Serbia in 2017, to serve as a platform for theatres and companies that operate along the borders of various language communities and cultures. The festival has taken place in Novi Sad since its inception, with the city’s support, organised by Novi Sad Theatre/Novosadsko Pozorište. It was conceived and has been managed by Valentin Venczel, Manager of the Hungarian-language theatre from 2013 to 2023. Though founded in Novi Sad, the Festival came to Budapest in 2023, the year of the Theatre Olympics in Hungary, and found its place in the 10th Madách International Theatre Meeting (MITEM).

(03 October 2023)