Black-and-white photo of a performer mid-jump above a small table on a dim stage, knees tucked and bare feet, in front of sheer curtains. A sharp shadow falls on the backdrop, with a dark garment on the floor to the right.

Organised by Sarajevo War Theatre – SARTR (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Heartefact Foundation (Serbia), Ulysses Theatre (Croatia), Para Film and Theatre (Norway), Binario Vivo (Italy) and Realstage (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the Sarajevo Theatre Showcase brings international theatre professionals to Sarajevo to discover powerful new voices from Southeast Europe and to spark opportunities for presentation, funding, touring and collaboration.

Taking place in September 2025, the Showcase is a flagship platform within The New Theatre Market (NTM) —a two-year initiative based primarily in Sarajevo with activities across partner countries. NTM advances co-production, talent development and sustainable practice, positioning Southeast European theatre on the international stage while promoting innovation, diversity and long-term resilience across the sector.

This year, more than 150 festival programmers, producers, artistic directors, venue managers and fund representatives from across Europe will meet over 100 programme participants from Southeast Europe. Through a curated programme of performances, pitches and professional exchange, the Showcase connects local talent with decision-makers and builds the foundations for future work.

Programme 

  • Showcase – A selection of the most compelling productions from Southeast Europe (2023–2025), foregrounding distinctive authorial voices and contemporary stage languages.

  • Theatre Market – Focused 1-to-1 meetings between playwrights and international producers/selectors, highlighting finished scripts ready for staging.

  • Industry Pitch – Public presentations of new projects in development seeking co-producers, touring partners or financing.

  • Atelier – A year-long mentoring track for emerging authors, culminating in public readings of three new texts.

  • Residency – A development residency for 20 early-career directors, producers and critics from the region, featuring workshops, peer exchange and study visits.

  • Stage Talks – A conference addressing urgent themes in contemporary theatre: sustainability, mobility, authors’ rights and international collaboration.

British voices at the STS

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Lora Krasteva

An artist, cultural producer and activist, Lora Krasteva creates multidisciplinary, devised work that sits at the intersection of art and civic engagement—connecting communities, artists, institutions and policy-makers. Her recent durational performance Becoming British examines national identity through the lens of first-generation migrants in the UK.

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Chris White

A dramaturg and director specialising in international collaboration, Shakespeare and new writing, Chris White works with organisations including Paines Plough (Associate Dramaturg) and the Royal Shakespeare Company (Associate Learning Practitioner). His recent production My English Persian Kitchen by Hannah Khalil sold out at the Traverse Theatre during the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe and transfers to Soho Theatre before a UK-Ireland tour.

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Catherine Paskell

Catherine is the artistic director of Dirty Protest, Wales' new writing theatre company, and an independent theatre director, producer and dramaturg with 25 years' experience making professional theatre grounded in communities with an international reach. Catherine and Dirty Protest's work is made in Wales and showcased internationalIy. Catherine has produced new play performances and tours, and been commissioned to share her methodologies, in Europe, the Americas, and Central Asia.

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Ian Rowlands

A Welsh dramatist, theatre creator and TV director, Ian Rowlands has led a wide spectrum of companies across his career, including a project theatre company, the national community company, a building-based production company and an international touring company. While he currently works primarily in television, in recent years he has spearheaded the Aurora Borealis project—a collaboration between The Torch Theatre (Wales), Volya Theatre (Norway) and The Baxter Theatre (South Africa).

The British Council is proud to support the Sarajevo Theatre Showcase as part of our mission to nurture cultural exchange, champion artistic excellence and create new routes for international collaboration across the Western Balkans and the UK.

Through these contributions—and in partnership with the organisers of the Sarajevo Theatre Showcase—the British Council continues to build creative bridges between the UK and Southeast Europe, supporting artists to develop work, forge partnerships and reach new audiences.