The 16th GavranFest was held in Prague

On 16 October 2025, the 16th GavranFest, an international theatre festival dedicated to writer and playwright Miro Gavran, the most translated and most frequently performed contemporary Croatian author, was ceremoniously opened in Prague. GavranFest brings together theatre ensembles and artists from various parts of Europe who perform Gavran’s comedies and dramas in their own languages. In this way, audiences experience the relevance and vitality of Gavran’s plays, which transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries.

The festival opened with a performance of Gavran’s comedy “All About Women”, produced by the Studio DVA Theatre from Prague. The opening ceremony was led by Dominika Kubišová. The audience was greeted by Miro Gavran and František Karoch, the festival’s organiser and selector, who welcomed the attendees and officially opened this year’s GavranFest. On this occasion, Gavran expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the excellent organisation of the festival and for the opportunity for theatre artists from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Ukraine to gather in the spirit of artistic dialogue and cooperation. After the performance, a reception was held for invited guests from cultural, political and social circles.

On 17 October, a round table titled “The International Reception of Miro Gavran” was held at the Lastavica venue. The participants included Jaroslav Otčenášek (Charles University in Prague), Tihomir Glowatzky (professor at the University of Bamberg and Gavran’s German translator), František Karoch (selector and organiser of the 16th GavranFest), Mladena Gavran (actress and director from Teatar GAVRAN), Anto Bilić (actor, director and intendant of the Croatian Theatre Travnik), and Miro Gavran himself. The discussion was hosted and moderated by Dominika Kubišová. That evening, the Croatian Theatre Travnik from Travnik (Bosnia and Herzegovina) staged the play “Forget Hollywood”.

On 18 October 2025, the play “Beer” was performed by the Kazalište Smejmo se troupe from Kranj (Slovenia). The performance was attended by Mr. Aleš Balut, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Czech Republic.
On 19 October 2025, the Maria Zankovetska National Academic Ukrainian Drama Theatre from Lviv (Ukraine) presented the play “My Wife’s Husband”, which was attended by Mr. Vasyl Zvarych, Ambassador of Ukraine to Prague.

The festival was officially closed on 20 October 2025 with a performance of “The Happiness Agency”, staged by Teatar GAVRAN from Zagreb (Croatia). The organiser and selector of the 16th GavranFest is František Karoch, president of the Czech-Croatian Club Nota Bene in Prague. All performances were presented with Czech surtitles, ensuring that the festival programme was accessible to a wider audience. Full information about the programme, guest performances and festival news is available on the website of the Czech-Croatian Club Nota Bene: https://www.ceskochorvatskyklub.cz/.

Photos: Zuzana Hubinková, Antonia Furjan