The conferences at FITS 2025 will bring notable personalities of the artistic world before the attendees, such as actors Bill Murray and Kathleen Turner, writer Wole Soyinka, or directors Alain Platel and Alexis Michalik
.jpg?locale=en)
This year too, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival will offer spectators the chance to meet tens of remarkable names of the cultural world thanks to the special conferences it has prepared.
There will be 22 special conferences over the course of ten days, with most of these events being moderated by theatre critic Octavian Saiu. And this year, for the first time, journalists Ionuț Sociu and Mihaela Dedeoglu will moderate a series of special conferences.
Over the course of these ten days, Octavian Saiu will discuss with Kathleen Turner, Timofei Kuliabin, Marie-France Ionesco, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Wole Soyinka, Simona Miculescu, Bill Murray, and Peter Bradshaw. Journalist Mihaela Dedeoglu will moderate the special conferences featuring Claire David and Alexis Michalik, while her fellow journalist Ionuț Sociu will discuss with Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Johan Simons, Alain Platel, and the Rimini Protokoll theatre group.
Over the course of these ten days, Octavian Saiu will discuss with Kathleen Turner, Timofei Kuliabin, Marie-France Ionesco, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Wole Soyinka, Simona Miculescu, Bill Murray, and Peter Bradshaw. Journalist Mihaela Dedeoglu will moderate the special conferences featuring Claire David and Alexis Michalik, while her fellow journalist Ionuț Sociu will discuss with Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Johan Simons, Alain Platel, and the Rimini Protokoll theatre group.
Access to the FITS special conferences is free of charge, subject to availability.
“We remain committed to presenting this gift to the audiences of FITS, thanks to these conferences that can be attended free of charge. It’s one of our ways of saying ‘THANK YOU!’ for their trust and warmth to those that attend the events of the Festival. These conferences are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet big names, such as Bill Murray, Kathleen Turner, Wole Soyinka, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Timofei Kuliabin, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, or Alain Platel”, says Constantin Chiriac, President of FITS.
Bill Murray, Kathleen Turner, and Wole Soyinka among the special guests of the Festival
On Saturday, 21 June, the special conference series begins at 10 AM with a FITS press conference, moderated by Octavian Saiu, at Forumul Democrat al Germanilor (Sala Oglinzilor). The event is held in Romanian, with translation in English, and can be accessed free of charge, subject to availability.
Starting 12 PM, also at Sala Oglinzilor, Ionuț Sociu will talk with Helgard Haug & Daniel Wetzel, Joachim Umlauf, Nicole Colin, and Hunor Horvath in a special conference dedicated to Rimini Protokoll. The event is presented in English, with translation in Romanian.
The conferences will end at 4 PM with a discussion between Gabriela Mateescu and artist Dan Perjovschi, at Forumul Democrat al Germanilor.
On Sunday, 22 June, at 12 PM, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt will talk with Ionuț Sociu at Sala Oglinzilor in an event presented in French, with translation in Romanian and English. Starting 2 PM, Octavian Saiu will moderate a conference dedicated to Tadeusz Kantor, alongside Katarzyna Fazan, Anna Róża Burzyńska, Marta Bryś, Natalia Zarzecka, and Tomasz Pietrucha.
Starting 4 PM, Adam Flatto, Gary Mccluskie, Robert Hanea, and Constantin Chiriac will discuss with Octavian Saiu at a Therme Forum event.
Also at 4 PM, at Catedrala Mitropolitană “Sfânta Treime”, priest Constantin Necula will hold a conference entitled “Liturghia ca un mare mulțumesc rostit lui Dumnezeu”.
On Monday, 23 June, the programme starts at 12 PM with a discussion between Claire David and Mihaela Dedeoglu about the forty-year anniversary of the Actes Sud-Papiers publishing house, specialising in theatre.
On Tuesday, 24 June, also at Sala Oglinzilor, Mihaela Dedeoglu will talk with French director and actor Alexis Michalik, at 2 PM.
On Wednesday, 25 June, the programme starts at Sala Oglinzilor with a discussion between Timofei Kuliabin and Octavian Saiu, at 12 PM. Starting 2 PM, Ionuț Sociu will open a dialogue with Johan Simons, artistic director of Schauspielhaus Bochum.
For Thursday, 12 PM, we have prepared an extraordinary meeting: Marie-France Ionesco and Cristian Mungiu will exchange views with Octavian Saiu about the work of Eugène Ionesco.
At 2 PM, the programme continues with a Therme Forum conference about the Conversion of industrial areas into cultural centres: Anka Józsa, Marton Horn, Constantin Chiriac, Robert Hanea, and Ștefan Adam in dialogue with Octavian Saiu.
On Friday, 27 June, starting 2 PM, the same moderator will be in dialogue with Kuranosuke Sasaki in a bilingual Japanese-Romanian event, with translation in Romanian and English.
On Saturday, 28 June, starting 11 AM, actress Kathleen Turner and Radu Toderici will confer with Octavian Saiu in a special conference, accessible to the general public. Starting 12:30 PM, Carlo Ginzburg and Franco Moretti will be in dialogue with Ovio Olaru and Andrei Terian in a conference entitled: Drama and History: A Conversation on Büchner’s “Danton’s Death”.
At 3 PM, Wole Soyinka, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, and Simona Miculescu will talk with Octavian Saiu.
On Sunday, 29 June, the day begins at 10 AM with a press conference moderated by Octavian Saiu. At 12 PM, the famous actor Bill Murray and critic Peter Bradshaw will be in dialogue with the same moderator, and at 1:30 PM, Ionuț Sociu will discuss with Alain Platel. The day continues with the release of the book “Tăceri și cuvinte. Arta dialogului despre teatru” (Nemira, 2024) in a special conference held by Octavian Saiu at 2:30 PM. The day ends at 4 PM, at Catedrala Mitropolitană “Sfânta Treime”, with a conference held by priest Constantin Necula entitled “Cum să mulțumești dușmanilor – meditații filocalice”.
The conferences at the Performing Arts Market, another opportunity to meet important professionals in the artistic field.
Another series of important conferences will be held at the Sibiu International Performing Arts Market. Between 23 and 26 June, the audiences in Sibiu will be able to attend discussions with big names of the artistic world, such as Harold David, co-chairman of the Avignon Festival & Compagnies, Roy Luxford, creative director of the Edinburgh International Festival, or Amy Cassello, artistic director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
The events of the International Performing Arts Market will take place at MyContinental Hotel (Sala Faust).
This year’s edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, themed THANK YOU, will take place between 20 and 29 June and will host over 841 indoor, outdoor, and online events.
More details about the indoor, outdoor, and online events at FITS 2025 are available on the sibfest.ro website and in the FITS app.