The Oradea International Theatre Festival (FITO) concluded its 10th edition on Sunday, September 20, held between September 10–20, 2026. This year's edition marked a double anniversary: 10 years of FITO and 50 years since the first edition of the Short Theatre Festival, inaugurated in 1976 under the name Short Theatre Week.
For 11 days, the festival program brought together performances from Romania and abroad, productions aimed at children and adults, performances by theater schools, performative readings, book launches and meetings dedicated to the history and present of performing arts.
The award ceremony of the XXVIII edition of the Short Theatre Festival, the competitive section of FITO, took place in the Great Hall of the Regina Maria Theatre, before the performance of the show Metamorphosis, a production of the Excelsior Theatre in Bucharest. The edition ended in King Ferdinand I Square, with the outdoor show O2 [Oxygen], presented by the company PIA – Projectos de Intervenção Artística from Portugal.
Eight performances in the Short Theatre Festival competition
The selection was made by Raluca Rădulescu, journalist, curator and theater translator, who evaluated over 100 performances submitted following the open call and chose eight productions addressed to diverse audiences:
- Happiness Hunters – Szigligeti Theater Oradea;
- (Yerma) – Proyecto (Puerperio), Santiago, Chile;
- Oxygen – "Tamási Áron" Theatre, Sfântu Gheorghe;
- Songs to scare fear – „Lucian Blaga” National Theatre, Cluj-Napoca;
- B category goddesses – creart/Teatrelli, in co-production with the "Lucian Blaga" National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca, the Regina Maria Theatre in Oradea and the "Mihai Eminescu" Theatre in Botoșani;
- awakening – Regina Maria Theater in Oradea;
- Vanya – POINT, Bucharest;
- Viscount – The "Luceafărul" Republican Theater in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova.
The winners of the edition were selected by an international jury consisting of Andrea Porcheddu, Italian professor, theater critic and journalist, member of the curatorial team of the Venice Theater Biennale, Kristina Kisielovaitė, Ukrainian-Lithuanian cultural strategist and theater producer, director of the KЇ FEST International Performing Arts Festival in Kiev, and Tomasz Domagała, theater and film critic, curator and selector of several festivals in Poland.
The 7 awards offered within the 2026 Short Theatre Festival
Best Actress Award was granted ex aequo actresses Ioana Dragoș Gajdó, Elena Ivanca and Silvia Luca, for the roles in the show B category goddesses, a creart/Teatrelli production, in co-production with the Regina Maria Theater in Oradea, the "Lucian Blaga" National Theater in Cluj-Napoca and the "Mihai Eminescu" Theater in Botoșani.
The award for the best actor it went back to the actor Catalin Lungu, for the title role in the show Viscount by Eugen Ionescu, directed and set designed by Slava Sambriș, production of the "Luceafărul" Republican Theater in Chișinău.
Best Music Award was awarded to artists Ada Milea, Anca Hanu, Radu Dogaru, Cristian Rigman, Mihnea Blidariu, Adriana Băilescu, Miron Maxim and Vlad Negrea, for the music of the show Songs to scare fear, concert-performance by Ada Milea, based on ideas from texts by Herta Müller, production of the "Lucian Blaga" National Theatre Cluj-Napoca.
Best Director Award it went to the director Bobi Pricop, for the show awakening by Doru Vatavlui, production of the Regina Maria Theater in Oradea.
The award for the best show was awarded to the production Songs to scare fear, concert-performance by Ada Milea, based on ideas from texts by Herta Müller, produced by the "Lucian Blaga" National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca.
Special Jury Prize for Text Adaptation returned to the show (Yerma), with dramaturgy by Eliana Furman in collaboration with María Luisa Vergara, Daniela Orellana, Caterina Peragallo, Gloria Labbay, Lucía de la Maza and Soledad Ramirez. The show is directed by Eliana Furman and produced by the company Proyecto (Puerperio) from Santiago, Chile.
Special Jury Prize was awarded to the teenage band consisting of Anastasia Vicoveanu, Robert Balint, Filip Ionescu, Rebeca Rusu, Dania Uifaluși, Benjamin Kendy and Tudor Neagu, for the roles in the show awakening by Doru Vatavlui, directed by Bobi Pricop, production of the Regina Maria Theater in Oradea.
International performances, theater schools and the return of the Arcadia Festival
Beyond the competitive section, FITO 2026 proposed a wide selection of guest performances from Romania, Latvia, Greece and Portugal, presented alongside productions by the Regina Maria Theater.
The program was completed by six related events: a meeting dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the first edition of the Short Theatre Festival, two book launches and three reading performances.
A novelty of the edition was the section dedicated to theater schools, which brought together four productions from the relevant faculties in Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest and Târgu Mureș. The performances were presented with free access, offering young artists a context to meet the audience and the professionals present at the festival.
Another important moment of the anniversary edition was the return, after an eight-year break, of the Arcadia Children's Theatre Festival, now in its 6th edition. The program included performances for all age groups, from children between 0 and 3 years old to pre-teens and teenagers, and brought to Oradea productions from theaters from Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Alba Iulia, Brașov, Galați, Craiova and Baia Mare.
Organizers, partners and supporters
The Oradea International Theater Festival is organized by the Regina Maria Theater, in partnership with the FITO Cultural Foundation and Visit Oradea, and is funded by the Bihor County Council.
We thank the mobility partner of the edition – D&C Oradea, sponsors and partners who supported the festival: Rotary Club Oradea, Rotary Club Oradea Art Nouveau, The Darabont family, Sugar Spice, Symphony of Floral Arrangements, wonder spring, Hotel Continental Forum Oradea, Restaurant Rivo, Selina Group and Restaurant La Teatru.
Special thanks for the support given go to Moskova Cafe, Madal Cafe, Top Sound, the "Gheorghe Șincai" Bihor County Library, the Oradea State Philharmonic and Familia Magazine.
The media partners of the edition were Today's Theatre Magazine, Family Magazine, Radio Transylvania, Radio Romania Cultural, Bihor, Crișana Daily, Bihorean Daily, Bichon, Days and Nights Magazine, Utopium, Bihorștiri, AGERPRES, Oradea în Direct, Aleșd Online, InfoOradea, UZP Bihor, Ovi Dan, Varadi, LiterNet.ro, Van Masik, Telex and Oradea Xperience.
We thank the artists, technical and administrative teams, partner institutions, FITO volunteers, and all the spectators who participated in this edition.
