The 22nd Flora Theatre Festival will take place in Olomouc from 10 to 20 May 2018. The international non-competition festival whose motto for this year is “Against the Wall” – will feature 29 productions in the main programme and around 90 events altogether.The university city of Olomouc will host theatre-makers from 10 countries.
The festival programme will comprise not only theatre productions but also concerts, discussions, workshops, seminars, installations and a film screening; a two-day theatrological conference will take place during the festival as well as a book exhibition Book Me and an educational programme for students called FloraLab.
Flora Theatre Festival is one of the most progressively developing theatre events in the Czech Republic, which, on an international level, consistently combines staging of drama productions with productions of the contemporary dance and performing arts scene. The rich off programme offers music productions, discussions, workshops, seminars, and other activities.
The festival has had a remarkably positive publicity and amazing references from media and general theatre public (see the 10 chosen reflections of the last festival edition):
The jingle of the Flora Theatre Festival was placed into the beginning of The Case Švejk production as a reminder that the entire Moravian festival was about „Fluid Europe“ (…) and also as proof that this pleasantly unpretentious event is often considered the best theatre festival in the country due to its openness and spontaneity.
Jan H. Vitvar: Don't report back (Flora Theatre Festival Olomouc teaches the audience to appreciate more demanding pieces) – weekly magazine Respekt, 29 May 2017
I consider Flora the most progressive festival in the country. (…) You can visit the conference during the day, go to the discussions with the creators after productions and meet with others at laid-back concerts in the circus tent at night. It is a place of theatre meetings and explorations (…) when you arrive there, you will not want to leave. But what is also very important – almost all the productions at Flora are sold out.
Lenka Dombrovská: Theatre Miracles in Olomouc – Theatre Newspaper, 13 June 2017
Flora maintains a sharp upward tendency and each year I am surprised at how they can move even higher. Flora is a world-class festival.
Czech director Kamila Polívková for the festival magazine
Until recently untouched by the Flora Theatre Festival, I am still recovering from the experience. Ten days full of theatre – Czech as well as European – often quite provocative focused around the theme of „our proud“ Europe. Moreover, there is this friendly atmosphere of the festival people mingling with the right European artists. (…) There is no need to look all that far when looking for well-running examples of „good practice“.
Jan Balaj, curator of the international festival Divadelna Nitra, Slovakia kød/06 magazine, June 2017
The city of Olomouc can be really proud of Flora. Petr Nerušil and his dramaturgy makes this festival a world-class event and the audience has an opportunity to see the finest German language productions. It is of course my honour to be the face of such a festival!
Stanislav Majer, Czech Actor of 2016, in an interview for OL4you magazine, March/April 2017
We arrived at Flora on Saturday and met a number of people straight away. We went to see some other performances and got lost in the black hole called Vertigo. It’s amazing here! People don’t disperse after the productions, but go together to the next one – it’s like a rock’n’roll festival. Amazing, I love it here!
Franz Pätzold
nominated for the Faust Award for Best Actor
in the Year 2016 for the festival newspaper
Flora Theatre Festival proves that the productions it offers are often hidden gems and provide the audience with new perspectives and various points of view on the human body, movement and stage art.
Tereza Ciganková, Taneční aktuality, 13 May 2017
I am of the opinion that Flora is a truly unique opportunity, in this geographical area, to see the best from the past season, not only from Czech and Slovak Republics, but also from Germany or Austria.
Martin Gazdík, dramaturg Žilina Town Theatre
Flora Theatre Festival keeps up with the times. This can be seen in their openness to experimental forms of theatre (…) It is like passing never-ending shop windows, which hide ever changing and shocking aesthetic sets of products behind the unbreakable glass.
Barbora Kašparová, Tanecnizona.cz
I am truly happy that I could have been at the founding of this platform years agonand that it has developed to such an extent.
Peter Gábor, Artistic Director of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava
