Roma Heroes 2025
Performances 2025
Roma Heroes – 7th International Theater Festival
The number seven is mythical, and it is almost like a fairy tale that the Independent Theatre Hungary has been organizing the European Union’s first international Roma theatre festival for the seventh time since 2017. The Roma Heroes – International Roma Theatre Festival will welcome audiences from May 7 to 11, 2025, at its co-organizer venue, the Eötvös10 Cultural Center. These five days celebrate theatre, paying tribute to independent theatre artists, their dramatic heroes, and Roma communities. We also express our gratitude for the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Budapest and the Embassy of Ireland in Hungary.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - so the saying goes. Some say it's a lie embedded in a cliché, but for Roma communities in Europe it is very much a reality." - says Rodrigo Balogh, Director of the Roma Heroes International Theatre Festival. "Looking at the Roma past, there is no reason to still be here. Yet we live, we create, we tell stories. We see ourselves not only as survivors, but as heroes - just like the independent Roma theatre initiatives that create new works year after year without institutional support. At the same time, we, the people who live here on Earth today, are all survivors in a sense."
The festival will feature performances from Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Ireland, presented in their original languages with English and Hungarian subtitles. After each performance, audience members will have the opportunity to meet the creators in post-show discussions, which will also be streamed live by HowlRound Theatre Commons, making them accessible online.
Beyond the theatre program, visitors can also explore Norbert Oláh’s exhibition "Anachronistic Sci-Fi" and the Romano Kher exhibition. The Festival is part of the European Roma Theater Festivals project with the support of Perform Europe and with the support of Trust For Mutual Understanding and HowlRound Theatre Commons We also thank the Romanian Cultural Institute in Budapest and the Embassy of Ireland, Hungary for their support.
Performances
May the 9th - 7pm
"Caliban and the Witch"
Artists
After William Shakespeare
Text and artistic direction: Mihaela Drăgan
Translated into romani: Izabela Tiberiade
Set design: Lia Dogaru
Costume design: Adelina Galiceanu és Zita Moldovan
Music: Andrei Horjea
Choreography: Răzvan Rotaru
The story
A spectacular, futuristic performance that radically rethinks Shakespeare's The Tempest The power balance is reversed: the Romani people conquer Western Europe, and Prospero, as a Romani Christian ruler, subjugates white Europeans in the name of "civilization." Sycorax, the witch displaced from the original play, finally gets a voice, while Caliban, as the oppressed European slave, becomes a symbol of rebellion.
A provocative and thought-provoking story about issues of power and injustice.
May the 8th. - 7 pm
Traveller Wagon Wheel Company (Ireland)
"Magpies on the Pylon"
Artists
Writer and performer: Michael Collins, Johnny Collins
The story
This two-person play, set in the Irish Traveller community, tells the heartbreaking story of a father and son. Jim does everything he can to provide for his family, but his greatest struggle comes when his son Tommy gradually withdraws from the world and eventually commits suicide.
Suicide is alarmingly common among Irish Travellers - the play explores the pain of social exclusion and loss. A performance that will make you cry and laugh at the same time - and one that will keep the viewer thinking about for days to come.
May the 9th – 7 pm
"Waiting for Bo"
Artists
The story
A performance in the spirit of Beckett, which depicts the struggle of two young Roma people looking for work.
Failures, misunderstandings and prejudices drive them further and further away from their dreams. A shocking yet human theatrical experience about vulnerability, hope and survival, presented with the self-forgetful humor and movement of commedia dell’arte.
May the 10th - 7pm
Cannibals
Artists
Writer: Barnabás Boda-Novy & Emília Boda-Novy, The life and everybody else...
Actors: Dávid Csányi, Nóra Nemcsók
Assistant director: Tamás András Szegedi
Playwright: Tímea Éva Bogya
Music: Dávid Varga
Lyrics: Kristóf Horváth
Director: Emília Boda-Novy
Producer: Rodrigó Balogh
The story
The butcher has disappeared.
131 Roma were convicted.
No bodies. 41 Roma were publicly executed.
Still no bodies, no evidence.
Only confessions extracted under torture.
The new performance of the Independent Theater of Hungary, The Cannibals, commemorates a story reminiscent of the Dark Ages.
May the 11th - 7 pm
„Life of Mariella Mehr”
Artists
Director: Katalin Lábán
Előadó: Magdi Rácz
The story
A theatrical performance about the tragic fate of the Yenisei people of Switzerland, which commemorates the community that became victims of biological genocide in Switzerland. The story is brought to life through the works of author Mariella Mehr, presenting a silenced past and the fight for survival. A poignant piece about the search for identity and the importance of memory.
Based on Mariella Mehr's works The Stone Age and Messages from Exile.
