June 30 represented the closing of an eventful season at the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj. Looking back at the 2016/2017 season that has just ended, we observe a successful season with 9 premieres, and the 5th edition of the Interferences International Theatre Festival. Main Hall premieres: Be Faithful Unto Death and Rosmersholm; Studio Hall and Main Hall studio space premieres: The Lower Depths, Homemade, Galoshes, The Experiment, Hormone, The Blind and A Streetcar Named Desire.
Within the framework of a new program launched this season by the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, the institution has focused especially on the inclusion of young creators. As the first stage of a program that will span over multiple years, the theatre has announced a competition for young theatre directors, as well as providing a venue for the first guest performances of many within the Shortcut program, meant to present independent creative teams from all around the country.
The 135 performances of the ensemble presented at our own venue - together with the guest performances featured at the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj - were seen by a total of 21.848 people, while an additional 3489 viewers got to enjoy the work of the company at theatre festivals and during guest performances presented in other cities. Together with the viewers of the 31 performances included within the Interferences International Theatre Festival, the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj had a total number of 33.635 viewers in the 2016/2017 season.

Alongside the busy performance schedule, the company has also honored numerous invitations to prestigious theatre festivals: after performing within the Short Theatre Festival in Oradea, in October, the ensemble was present at the National Theatre Festival with three performances; while in December Hedda Gabler was presented as a guest performance within the International Ibsen Festival in Tokyo. The world premiere of the play Galoshes had been invited to the DESZKA Festival, in Debrecen; the Homemade devised theatre project was presented within the HolnapUtán Festival, while, after being awarded with the Best Director prize at the 2016 UNITER Gala, The Lower Depths was performed at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, as well as within the theatre competition of the National Theatre Reunion of Pécs. As part of an already established tradition of collaboration between the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj and the Comedy Theatre of Budapest (Vígszínház), our ensemble had had two guest performances in Budapest.

Festival attendances will also continue during the summer: in July Silviu Purcărete’s direction of Julius Caesar will attend the Almagro International Classical Theatre Festival, while at the beginning of September, the ensemble was invited to perform at the Seoul Performing Arts Festival.
The 225 season - the jubilee season - of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj will begin within the Hungarian Days of Cluj cultural event, where, alongside performances, those interested can also participate at the programs provided by the already traditional theatre tent.
The preparations for the next season’s first premiere will begin in the autumn, when director Victor Ioan Frunză will stage Tony Kushner’s drama Angels in America.