Romeo and Juliet in the Rain – the Sopron International Theatre Workshop has concluded

The International Theatre Workshop was organized by the University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE), with the participation of acting teachers and young acting and directing students representing the theatre training programs of five countries – Spain, Romania, Peru, Bulgaria and Mongolia – in addition to the MATE Rippl-Rónai Faculty of Arts in Kaposvár.

Photo: Péter Rombai

The participants were divided into mixed, international groups every afternoon, the work of which was supervised by six (three Hungarian and three Romanian) directing students. By the end of the workshop, each group had produced a short, 20–25-minute performance, reflecting on the theme of Romeo and Juliet from a contemporary perspective. The task was complicated for the directors because it was not possible to know in advance the location of the performances or who they would work with: the groups were assigned to a director by drawing lots.

The actors were a mix of foreign and Hungarian students, and although they were working on Shakespeare, it would not have been reasonable to use the original text in its entirety due to language differences. In several performances, this problem was solved by having the two families speak two different languages.

Photo: Péter Rombai

The weather was not kind despite the July date, with temperatures of only 15 degrees Celsius and even the rain had to be fought during the outdoor performances. The performances relied heavily on the tools of movement theatre (movement art, gesture theatre, contact techniques and martial arts elements) that were drawn from many places, which posed a real challenge for the students on the wet and muddy ground, but due to the site-specific nature of the performances, it would not have been practical to hold them indoors.

Despite the difficulties, the persevering audience was able to see full-fledged performances that successfully combined the music, theatre culture and methods of the acting students from different backgrounds. András Kozma, a literary translator and dramaturge, the professional leader of the workshop, expressed his final thoughts after the performances: he hopes that the meeting of different cultural backgrounds, the sharing of theatrical knowledge and the joint work have enriched the participating students with experiences that can determine their professional path in the long term, and that the workshop contributes to the formation of open, cross-border theatrical communities.

Photo: Péter Rombai

The International Theatre Workshop – Sopron 2025 was implemented within the framework of the cooperation agreement signed in May 2025 between the SZFE, the University of Sopron and the National Theatre. The common goal of the three institutions is to create platforms that promote creative thinking, international professional dialogue and practice-oriented knowledge sharing – thereby contributing to the development of young artists.