The Multimedia Center from Pristina, in collaboration with the National Theatre of Albania, the National Experimental Theatre “Kujtim Spahivogli,” and the M.A.M Center, is set to bring the region’s largest theatre event, the “Kosovo-Albania Theatre Showcase – 2024,” to Tirana for the first time.

From October 29 to November 2, over 80 international guests—including festival selectors, theatre critics, journalists, and various theatre professionals from the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Hong Kong, Thailand, England, Greece, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Portugal, the Netherlands, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Estonia, and numerous other countries—will gather in Tirana. They will participate in a vibrant program featuring theatrical performances, discussion panels, events promoting young playwrights and theatre artists, and educational sessions. The event will showcase a total of 10 theatre performances from Albania, Kosovo, Greece, and Serbia, as well as dozens of complementary events on theatre, playwriting, and theatre criticism.

The program will open with the play Lule Sajza, a production by the National Experimental Theatre “Kujtim Spahivogli,” followed by a unique performance by the polyphonic group “Bashkimi” at 19:00 during the festival’s official opening ceremony. The first day will continue with the premiere of Faust, produced by the National Theatre of Albania.

On October 30, the program will start with the discussion “The Theatre Landscape in Post-Communist Albania” at 15:00 in the ArTurbina lobby, followed by a performance of Bottecchia by renowned actors Ema Andrea and Rafael Hoxhaj in the ArTurbina courtyard, accompanied by Italian director Riccardo Ventrella and Albanian musician Sevasti Ndini. At 20:00, the National Experimental Theatre “Kujtim Spahivogli” will host the play The Six Against Turkey, produced by the Multimedia Center from Pristina.

On October 31, at the Pyramid, the event Poetic Consultations will offer the audience a rare opportunity to interact closely with celebrated actors from Albania—Ema Andrea, Rafael Hoxhaj—and actors from Kosovo, Adrian Morina and Albulena Kryeziu Bokshi, alongside French actress Gaelle Goillou. The panel “Theatre in Public Space” will continue at 11:30 in the ArTurbina lobby, followed by a 14:30 performance of The Internationals from Greece at the Tulla Cultural Center. At 17:00, the program will continue with The Whites, a production by the Multimedia Center, at the National Experimental Theatre “Kujtim Spahivogli,” culminating with the play The Niche of Shame by the National Theatre of Kosovo at 20:30 in the National Theatre hall. The program will resume on Friday at 15:00 with How I Learned to Drive from Serbia at the Tulla Cultural Center, followed by The Concert at the National Experimental Theatre at 17:00, and closing the day with Vassa Zheleznova, presented by the A.Z. Çajupi Theatre from Korçë.

On Saturday at 13:30 in the Tulla Cultural Center, excerpts from the works of emerging playwrights Tobias Xhaxhiu and Ina Baqoshi from Albania, Ulpianë Maloku from Kosovo, and Eva Kamcevska and Ana Trpenoska will be read by actors Eva Gjikaj, Ronaldo Kolgjokaj, and Shandi Ismailaj, under the direction of Artemis Beluli.

The workshop Post, Post Communist Baby led by renowned English playwright Mark Ravenhill will offer regional playwrights a rare opportunity to develop their skills, while the critical analysis workshop with critics Natasha Tripney from England and Tom Mustroph from Germany aims to cultivate a new generation of theatre critics in the region. In total, around 30 participants from Albania, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and North Macedonia have been selected to attend these workshops.

For six consecutive years, this internationally-scaled event has been held in Pristina, serving as a promotional and networking platform for the local theatre scene. This year, the Multimedia Center has expanded the platform to Albania to further promote the Albanian theatre scene.

Notable participants in this year’s edition of the Kosovo-Albania Theatre Showcase in Tirana include Marco Giorgetti, director of Italy’s National Theatre “Teatro della Pergola” in Florence; Julia Wissert, director of Dortmund Theatre; Steven Morris, renowned American author and Pulitzer Prize literary jury chair; Miguel Loureiro, director of Lisbon City Theatre; Daniel Přibyl, director of Prague City Theatre; Petra Brylander, director of Malmö Theatre; Susanne Burkhardt, editor at German public radio; Jørgen Knudsen, director of the ‘Black Box Teater’ in Oslo; Mark Ravenhill, celebrated English playwright; A.Karim Jawad, theatre critic and State Council member from Oman; and Roy Horovitz, Israeli director and head of the Israeli Theatre Showcase.

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