We are often asked: how is a MITEM program put together? First of all, over the past twelve years, we have established many partnerships and friendships with theatre companies and theatre professionals. We are in constant dialogue with them and are happy to host their newest productions. Thanks to the festival’s reputation, we also receive suggestions from all over the world, from which we carefully select. Our team attends international festivals and premieres to see what new developments are emerging globally. Sometimes, ‘current events’ shape the MITEM lineup – most recently, during the Turkish-Hungarian cultural season, Turkish performances received special attention; this time, we are focusing on the Serbian-Hungarian cultural season. At the same time, we have our own thematic interests – such as anthropological theatre, authentic theatrical forms, and the theatre world of linguistic and ethnic minorities, including Hungarians living beyond the borders.

In 2026, theatre masters such as Suzuki Tadashi, Valère Novarina, and Andrei Şerban will return to us – artists who have created their own distinctive theatrical languages and provide inspiration and guidance for future generations. The legendary Suzuki elevates Rostand’s classic to a new dimension, bringing Cyrano de Bergerac – a story of love, longing, and self-sacrifice – to life through the imaginative world of a Japanese playwright.

The MITEM audience has already had multiple opportunities to see performances by Valère Novarina, a contemporary French playwright with a distinctive theatrical voice. His production Gondolatalakok (Thoughtforms) masterfully balances on the border between theatre, visual art, and literature.

The I. L. Caragiale National Theatre in Bucharest, a long-time partner of ours, returns this year with Mary Stuart – directed by Andrei Şerban. He stages Friedrich Schiller’s classic through a new adaptation by Robert Icke, a playwright and director hailed as a ‘rising star of British theatre.’ This production received seven nominations at Romania’s theatre ‘Oscars,’ the UNITER Gala, in 2025. At the same gala, the UNITER jury awarded Best Direction and Best Performance to István Albu and the Harag György Company of the Northern Theatre of Satu Mare for their production of Richard III, which will also be featured at MITEM.

From Southern Europe comes the cabaret-concert-theatre production A Macbeth Song: the special feature of the 29 performances by Barcelona’s La Perla is the collaboration with the British avant-garde, surreal, punk cabaret band, the Tiger Lillies.

The Neapolitan Pinocchio, directed by Davide Iodice and selected for the Venice Biennale program, goes far beyond the fairy tale: this wooden puppet becomes a companion to today’s children and young people facing difficult circumstances. This Pinocchio is moving, tender, and fiercely human – a theatre of fragility and hope.

And many more exciting performances await you…

Edit Ágota Kulcsár, Chief Organizer

(13 January 2026)