Our guests's opinions are here
Torek, 17. november 2015
- The programme was well composited. The performances which I have seen were interesting and made in different theatre aesthetics. Most of them were with high artistic quality. In general my preliminary expectations were filled.
One of the performances – Hedda Gabler of the host theatre – the Drama of the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor, was an interesting surprise for me. I liked it very much and note it as one of the best shows in the programme. I will offer Hedda Gabler to International Theatre Festival "Varna Summer” in Bulgaria to select it for its International programme for the 2016 edition.
Continue to organize it the same strong and varied way!
Kamelia Nikolova, National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria
- I’ve seen 8 performances, I find 4 of them very interesting, especially those with a socio-political stake and those with a contemporary approach (either at the level of themes, or at the level of aesthetics).
Andrea Andrei, German State Theatre Timisoara, Romania/Curator of The European Theatre Festival EUROTHALIA
- Unfortunately, due to work at home, I couldn’t stay at the festival very long this year, so I had limited time both to see performances and experience other parts of the festival. However, during the time I did spend in Maribor, I was able to see a great mix of shows and got to meet interesting people.
I feel that the artistic quality of the festival is very high, although quite different from the performing arts context that I am used to from Sweden. Out of the four performances that I had time to see, the interactive D-I-Y performances was the one that stood out from the rest.
The organization of the Maribor festival is super! As a guest, you always feel welcome and taken care off. The festival is quite long, and for many people it’s hard to stay the whole time, but it’s good that you can decide the dates yourself. The transport and the accommodation have been very good and I couldn’t wish for any other help.
The aim of my visit is for the festival to have a Swedish theme on the next edition, and on a short term, my goal is to help arrange this. In a long term, I hope that the Slovenian audience get to know a bit more about Swedish performing arts and to have more international exchanges between our two countries.
Lovisa Björkman, Project manager at Teaterunionen – Swedish ITI
- Content of 50th Maribor Theatre Festival was wonderfully organized, diverse within the program, with a highest artistic quality. My aim was to see a brand new Slovenian theatre production where all my expectations regarding the quality and high professional level of the productions met. This is one of the best theatre festivals in region for far most. Mind you the organization was wonderful.
Radmila Djurica, a freelance theatre and film critic and translator
- I didn't attend the whole showcase program, but came with a special interest in one performance: Jernej Lorenci's The Iliad. I also attended "Yougoslavia, my coutry". After seeing the The Iliad and discussing Lorenci's work with Alja Predan I am certainly interested to follow his work.
I will follow the Slovenian Theatre more by research and maybe scouting. Would like to come more days to the next edition of the showcase.
René van der Pluijm, Artistic Director, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam (Municipal Theatre Amsterdam)
- The Program exhibited in the 50th Maribor Theatre Festival was interesting for its diversity, the level it showed and the responsible coordination of the events. Even when I missed the first four days of the Festival (and of course, a lot of good shows), I had time to see what I considered some of the best presentations of the Festival and to participate as active audience in the Symposium.. Being a golden celebration of this relevant, historical event, the program dignified its
successful long existence. We saw plays of relevant themes and very updated subjects, like Yugoslavia, My Country. We saw original and modernized classics as The Iliad, an epic, theatralized and directed with so intensity that emotionally moved the whole audience. We saw modernized of classic plays, from young actors perspective, as Hamletting and so much more that there is no doubt that there was theatre for all tastes and ages, most of it with a high level of knowledge and artistic
quality.
The organization of the Showcase program was intelligent and well thought. The distance between the hotels and the theatrical spaces was at walking path. We could easily move walking, to the shows, to the activities of the symposium, to meetings, restaurants and museums.
I am trying to collect plays, history and other information of the Slavic theatre for a future anthology, translated into Spanish, that I am projecting . Listening to Prof. Ales Gabric (history of Slovenia), and to Amelia Kraigher (history of Slovenian theater), was very important for me in terms of information. I will contact them in the future to help me with bibliography and suggestions regarding my work. Some people I met will be registered in my archives for possible invitations as lecturers professors (for workshops), in our university or for theatre productions exchange.
First I would like to congratulate Mrs. Alja Predan and the other organizers of the Maribor Theatre Festival for their successful management and work in organizing and presenting a wonderful 50th anniversary edition. My main suggestion is for the organizers of the Festival to maintain the high level of the presentations we experienced. I also recommend to keep organizing the parallel educational activities as it was this year's symposium. The combination of theoretical expressions and the stage practice is always a guarantee of satisfaction for the ample audience. It usually brings good results, national or internationally, for the audience and for the Festival itself, in this case, for Maribor Theater Festival.
I also suggest a formal meeting or get together for the guests, specially for the visitors from abroad, to meet each other in an easier way. There is so much to do in the Festival and so many people that without this encounter there is a possibility that you won't meet all the participants that are of your interest.
Rosalina Perales, Ph. D., University of Puerto Rico (Drama Department)
- To be honest, I didn’t quite know what to expect on arriving in Maribor. It is not easy to find out much about Slovenian theatre in the UK and my only reference was an article by Blaž Lukan that was in a book called: Theatre and Performance in Eastern Europe. I had been told that Slovenian theatre is more akin to German theatre than British and, from my limited experience of German theatre, I would definitely say this is true.
Right from the first performance, 20th Century Fog, I was definitely impressed with the outstanding discipline of the artists and the creativity of the direction involved in each piece. The showcase pieces were all uniquely diverse, which from a London-based perspective was very refreshing. As I have worked at the Old Vic theatre and having been involved with many London-based theatres and organizations, there tends to be a pattern to the performances that each institution puts on. Not to say there is anything wrong with a ‘theme’ of work, but each showcase piece brought something new and entirely different from the last to the audience and it allowed me to look at each piece as it was in-front of me, rather than judging it on any outside factors. I was very impressed with a large majority of the productions I saw, as well as each performances way of dealing with the language barriers of the audience. The supporting pieces and Polish exchange performances were interesting, on the whole I preferred the showcase, but getting some perspective into independent theatre, international theatre and alternative theatre productions was very intriguing.
Staying for almost the entire festival, I felt like I got a good understanding of the festival and the people behind it. I felt very welcome throughout the entire festival and everyone was exponentially helpful with my queries and problems. Sadly, I am aware mostly due to the different showcase guests coming at very different times, the common gathering didn’t really seem like it worked, but the information I gained about Slovenian theatre and history was very useful.
All in all, I was very impressed and humbled by the experience, so thank you for being so gracious, and I would definitely come again if my situation allows it!Meeting Alja was an enlightening experience. I gained an insight into the workings and trials of running a festival in Slovenia. Mojca was great and helped with everything I could think of, and a lot of things I couldn’t think of! Meeting students who are studying at the Academy was actually very insightful into what its like to be a young emerging theatre-maker in Slovenia and what I learnt will help me both with my articles as well as my theatre project in the near future.
Rupert Adams, Freelance/ Journalist and Theatre-Maker, UK
- I have been visiting the Maribor theatre Festival for 5 years. This year it was a special honor to me to be present at the 50th anniversary of the event. The 2015 program was especially diversified. I enjoyed very much seeing the exhibition Borštnik Bound! and the virtual e-xhibition The Borštnik Ring Recipients 1970–2014 shown in the National Liberation Museum of Maribor. I consider a special asset of the Festival showing foreign performances providing place for the
theatre culture of other nations and countries. I do also appreciate the Festival’s striving to give each time forum for the comprehensive presentation of a given country’s theatrical life. I like also the book exhibitions, the meeting points and discussions, all giving ground for exchange of ideas and ideals.
It would be helpful if the discussions on the performances on the following day would be simultaneously translated into English. I would also suggest including some site specific venues for both the main and the off programs of the Festival.
Sylvia Huszár, MaNNa Culturaral Association, Production Art Manager – Project Coordinator, Hungary