The 35th edition of the National Theatre Festival, produced by UNITER – the Romanian Theatre Union, will take place in Bucharest between October 17 and 26. The program includes 34 performances in the official selection, with a total of 71 showings presented in 20 theatres across Bucharest.

The curatorial team of the National Theatre Festival is made up of Raluca Cîrciumaru (theatre critic), Alina Epîngeac (theatre critic), and Ionuţ Sociu (playwright and cultural journalist), with Radu Afrim as associate director.

The theme of this edition is an invitation: “NTF 2025. It concerns you!”, with the visual identity created by stage designer Irina Moscu.

“It concerns you! is both a call for solidarity and civic responsibility at a turning point (a critical juncture for society as a whole), as well as a confirmation of the aesthetic and dialogical flow between artist and spectator. The theme welcomes the organic artistic initiative of exploring the stage as a platform to address pressing contemporary issues, while also relying on aesthetic coherence and self-reflexive attitudes that accompany the creative process. Moreover, it aims to acknowledge the active presence and role of the audience within the theatrical ecosystem. This courageous eye-to-eye gaze advances a gesture of solidarity around culture, which finds itself under siege from indifference and impotence. We have been here for a long time, and we intend to stay; not only to tell stories post-factum, but also to construct the premises of a reality that each of us is responsible for right now. Therefore, it concerns all of us, collectively and individually,*” the curators explain.

The NTF program features 34 productions in the official selection, three performances grouped in the Focus: Radu Afrim module (“The House Between the Blocks,” National Theatre of Târgu-Mureş – “Tompa Miklós” Company; “Teatro Lúcido at the Edge of Infinity,” Constanţa State Theatre; and “A Day of Joy,” National Theatre “Vasile Alecsandri” Iaşi), three guest performances (“The Glass Garden,” directed by Petru Hadârcă, National Theatre “Mihai Eminescu” Chişinău, Republic of Moldova; “The Viscount,” directed and designed by Slava Sambriş, Republican Theatre “Luceafărul,” Chişinău, Republic of Moldova; and “The Clapper,” a dance performance by Andrea Gavriliu, Mădălina Dan, Ştefan Lupu, produced by Polski Teatr Tańca, Poland), as well as a special event production by Radu Afrim, presented at the festival’s opening on October 17, 9:00 p.m., at the “Ion Caramitru” Hall of the National Theatre “I.L. Caragiale” in Bucharest.

Also included in the cultural circuit of NTF is Recul – Cultural Remedy, a venue hosting the performance “It’s Only the End of the World,” directed by Eugen Jebeleanu, produced by the National Theatre “Radu Stanca” Sibiu – German Section.

The full NTF program is available at: https://fnt.ro/2025/program-17-octombrie/

Tickets for the performances of the 35th edition of the National Theatre Festival will go on sale simultaneously across all ticketing platforms of the hosting theatres, as well as at their box offices, on a date to be announced later.

The NTF is a strategic cultural project funded by the Ministry of Culture. The co-producer is the City Hall of Bucharest through ARCUB – the Cultural Center of Bucharest.

Written by Aura Marinescu | 18 septembrie 2025, 08:01