The Theatre Institute and the Rekultur platform are pleased to announce the results of the call for applications for a playwrights’ residency in Kutná Hora (Czech Republic). Thanks to the residency programme, playwrights will have the opportunity to develop their artistic ideas in a creative space and with financial comfort.

We received an impressive 71 applications for the residency. Being the Theatre Institute, we want to encourage the development and networking of the theatre community, so we are delighted to be able to support people starting their careers as playwrights.

We selected the following applicants to take part in the residency:

• Agnieszka Jelonek,
• Edmund Krempiński.

Congratulations!

“Selecting the two residents was a fascinating but difficult task”, said the selection committee. “We received an incredibly diverse range of applications. They came from all over Poland, from small towns and big cities, from people with extensive artistic experience in other fields and from those who have yet to make their debut. We had the opportunity to read texts that overlapped on different thematic, formal, and stylistic levels. They represented different social and national minorities and people with disabilities. Most of the candidates mentioned how important it was for them to have the opportunity to work with an experienced mentor and to present extracts from their texts at an international theatre festival. We are very pleased that the residency format has been so well suited to the needs of those embarking on their path as playwrights. We wish all the participants every success in their careers and encourage them to keep writing.”

The selection committee consisted of Miroslav Hristov (Goethe-Institut Bulgaria), Krystyna Mogilnicka (Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute) and Ewa Zembok (Rekultur).

The residency is a meeting place for foreign and Czech authors, playwrights and representatives of other theatre professions. It is an open space for exchanging experiences, artistic strategies and broad inspiration.

The residency will conclude with a presentation of the texts written during the international theatre festival Divadelní festival Kutná Hora. The festival aims to present original contemporary theatre, focusing on topical texts or original projects that shed light on current, pressing social issues. The programme of the festival will be announced soon.

The festival programme is curated by theatre director Ewa Zembok and Miroslav Hristov from the Bulgarian Goethe-Institut. The idea of creating a residency centre in Kutná Hora is based on the foundations of the existing international network of young playwrights, New Stages Southeast.