Romania’s National Theatre Festival returns for 36th edition in October

The 36th edition of Romania’s National Theatre Festival (FNT) will take place in Bucharest from October 16 to 25 under the theme “[...]perfectly human.” Its programme includes 88 performances presented in 24 venues across the capital.

At the centre of the festival are 36 productions selected from more than 150 performances from the 2025-2026 theatre season. The curatorial team comprises critics Raluca Cîrciumaru, Alina Epîngeac, and Sebastian-Vlad Popa.

The theme examines perfection and imperfection, vulnerability, and the ways people define their relationships with others, society, and technology, the organizers said.

“The curatorial proposal places humanity’s most vulnerable trait at the centre of the festival: (im)perfection as both a quality and a flaw of the eternally human spirit,” according to the curators.

The programme includes two productions from the Republic of Moldova: Richard III, directed by Petru Hadârcă and produced by the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre in Chișinău, and Macbeth, directed by Slava Sambriș and produced by the Luceafărul Republican Theatre.

The festival’s educational section will offer performances, workshops, conferences, and meetings for pupils and teenagers. Other sections will feature opera and operetta productions, a recital by the winners of the 2026 HOP Young Actor Gala, and Migration Diary: New York City Edition, a multimedia performance by Carmen Lidia Vidu produced by La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York.

More than 50 additional events - including staged readings, debates, conferences, exhibitions, book launches, performance installations, and meetings with artists - will be held at another 28 cultural spaces in Bucharest.

The full performance schedule is now available, while details of the accompanying events will be announced later. Tickets will be sold through the participating theatres’ online platforms and box offices, with the sale date to be confirmed.

The festival is produced by UNITER, the Romanian Theatre Union, and financed by the Culture Ministry, with Bucharest City Hall participating through ARCUB.