The festival took place, and that was good enough 30. anniversary celebration in itself. ITF Divadelná Nitra 2021 ended successfully. A festival is a holiday of art. This feeling permeated the jubilee 30. edition of one of the leading cultural events in Slovakia. The International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra ended on Wednesday, 6 October. Over six days, it brought opportunities to rediscover social life and the joys of mutual contact.
“Perhaps the most important thing is that the festival took place, and that, compared to last year, we put on the programme as we had planned it. We did not have to make any amendments due to the pandemic or unfavourable weather,” reckons festival director Darina Kárová. Despite limited seating capacities and anti-epidemic measures, performances clocked a good turnout and favourable reception. 10 Slovak and foreign productions in the main programme were seen by a total of 1 235 spectators, while thirty events in the accompanying programme catered to 2 622 people.
The thirtieth edition was unlike previous festivals – it was organised under crisis management conditions and in a dire financial situation. “Until the final moments before the start we feared that, for some reason or another, it was not going to happen, that it would be cancelled, and we availed ourselves fully of the previous year’s experience. This is why we prepared no celebrations – let’s say the fact that the festival took place and ended successfully was a good enough celebration in and of itself,” festival director Kárová summarizes the event’s predicament. Organising a festival during a pandemic is a highly specific experience, and ITF Divadelná Nitra was fortunate as staff and organisational capacities were left unharmed.
As the main festival organiser, Association Divadelná Nitra would hereby like to thank for the collaboration of its main co-organisers – Andrej Bagar Theatre, Nitra Self-Governing Region and The City of Nitra, and all nineteen co-organisers from the public and private sector. The festival was supported by 19 Slovak and foreign foundations and funds, 5 main media and 10 media partners, and 24 partners from the commercial and public sector. 30 curators and collaborators, 23 staff members, and 30 volunteers were involved in its organisation. The main and accompanying programme featured 364 performers.