Over months of lockdown during the pandemic, Ján Palárik Theatre in Trnava, Slovakia, has been almost constantly working on new projects, ready to be presented immediately after the reopening of theatres.

In June we unleashed our accumulated energy and brought our audiences three new pieces in a row: Bad Mother (“Zlomatka”) by Mario Gelardi was directed by prestigious European artist, Hungarian actress and director Enikő Eszenyi, Ferlinghetti or Funland In The Head (“Ferlinghetti alebo Lunapark v hlave”) by talented young artist Mário Drgoňa, and finaly Martin Crimp’s Misanthrope – after Molière – was directed by our artistic director Juraj Bielik.

“Bad Mother” emphasized the difficult and sensitive issue of “coming out” in a conservative environment. With this performance, our theatre has decided to declare support for the idea of equal opportunities for everyone to live a fulfilling life in contemporary society. In the so-called “Ferlinghetti Project”, Ján Palárik Theatre worked with young artists and fresh graduates from the Academy of Music and Performing Arts, who decided to pay tribute to one of the most important poets of 20th century. Misanthrope – after Molière - is a contemporary transcription of the classical 17th century drama in verse, which transfers the story to a contemporary showbiz environment in present-day London.

Following this initial “festival of openings,” our theatre is opening its doors to children who will enjoy two weeks of summer camp, rehearsing their own production as professional actors. And the rest of the theatre will not stop working either – in September, we plan to present two more new plays which are currently in rehearsal, ready to welcome our audiences in our halls again.