STS 2025: A New Chapter for Regional Theatre Collaboration
From September 12 to 14, 2025, Sarajevo hosted the Sarajevo Theatre Showcase / New Theatre Market (STS/NTM) – a new international professional event in the field of contemporary theatre and performing arts. The project was led by Sarajevo War Theatre SARTR, in partnership with Reelstage (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Heartefact (Serbia), Ulysses Theatre (Croatia), Binario Vivo (Italy), and Para Film & Teater (Norway). Unlike traditional festivals open to the general public, STS was a strictly professional industry event, focused on theatre makers, producers, critics, curators, and cultural managers. Throughout the three-day program in Sarajevo, the focus was on developing professional networks, presenting new projects, and creating opportunities for international cooperation and exchange. The project included specially designed programs: Showcase, Theatre Market, Industry Pitch, Atelier, Residency, Stage Talks, as well as the Green Lab, which is scheduled to take place the following year.
The Showcase program featured carefully selected productions from the region, curated by Beka Vučo and Ulriche Johnson in dialogue with Andrej Nosov. Among the presented works were “Suicide As a Social Fact” (Bitef Theatre), “The Machine” (directed by Bojana Robinson, produced by Institute 0.1 Ljubljana), “Hinkemann” (Theatre Golden Yelets Skopje and MOT Festival), “This is my truth, tell me yours” (Center for Drama Art, Via Negativa, and City of Women), “Podroom” (SARTR and Reelstage), and “PRISHTINA. The Premeditated Killing of a Dream” (Qendra Multimedie, Pristina).
The Theatre Market was a curated program of one-on-one meetings between regional playwrights and international producers, curators, and managers.
This year’s selection included texts “Kansas City, Kansas” by Vida Davidović, “This is our house” by Lucija Klarić, “Gone, Yet Still Leaving/Living” by Nikolina Rafaj, and “A Name in the Ashes” by Nina Plavanajc.
The program gave the authors an opportunity to present their works to international professionals and explore possibilities for future production and performance.
The Industry Pitch was created for new projects seeking visibility, partners, and support at the international level.
After a preparation period with mentors Miroljub Mijatović, Stela Mišković, and Gordana Goncić, projects such as “Blank,” “Fragments of Violence,” “I Killed Alma,” “First Macedonian in Space,” “I Guess I’ve Moved?” and “Xenia” were presented through public pitches to professionals from across Europe, opening the path for their further realization and production.
The Residency Program gathered twenty emerging directors, producers, and critics from Southeast Europe, who, during their week-long stay in Sarajevo, participated in workshops, peer-learning sessions, and institutional visits led by Selma Spahić, Branislav Cerović, and Natasha Tripney.
Although closed to the public, the program offered participants a unique opportunity for professional growth and networking with international peers.
A special segment of STS was the Atelier for Playwrights, through which nineteen young authors developed their new texts under the mentorship of Biljana Srbljanović, Ivor Martinić, Marija Milisavljević, and Bernhard Studlar.
At the final staged readings in Sarajevo, four awarded texts were presented: “Mi se bojimo, učimo da brojimo” by Jana Milivojević (Serbia), “11 minuta u svemiru” by Armin Behrem (Bosnia and Herzegovina), “Moje ime je Dajana” by Nađa Mišković (Serbia), and “Hotel Europa” by Arma Tanović and Saida Mustajbegović (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
The Stage Talks conference took place over two days and explored key themes of contemporary theatre: sustainable production practices, new models of collaboration and mobility, audience development, collective organizing, and the ethical and legal dimensions of authorship.
Speakers included Ivana Vuković (dramaturge and president of SPID, the Croatian Society of Playwrights and Authors of Performing Works), Alexander Scholz (lawyer, cultural manager, and opera director), Jovana Karaulić and Ksenija Marković (co-founders of GreenArt Incubator), and Ása Richardsdóttir (Secretary General of the IETM network and Chair of Perform Europe).
Across all its programs, the Sarajevo Theatre Showcase / New Theatre Market emphasized professional development, international cooperation, and the promotion of sustainable practices in theatre, with a special focus on women, young authors, and underrepresented creators.
The goal was to position Sarajevo and the region as a vital center for exchange and collaboration in contemporary performing arts.
Part of the New Theatre Market initiative was co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.
