17th Research Forum on Children and Youth Theatre Concludes in Subotica

33rd International Festival of Children’s Theatres - Subotica – Day 5

17th Research Forum on Children and Youth Theatre Concludes in Subotica

The 17th edition of the Research Forum on Children and Youth Theatre, dedicated to the topic The Phenomenon of Space and Environment in Theatre for Children and Youth, as part of the 33rd International Festival of Children's Theatres - Subotica, concluded on September 24, 2026.

This year, the Forum brought together theatre scholars and researchers from Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Poland, England, Wales, Canada, Chile, South Africa and China. The essays presented will be published in the upcoming anthology volume of Theatre for Children: an Artistic Phenomenon, issued by the Theatre Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad, the Open University Subotica and the International Festival of Children's Theatres - Subotica.

“The Forum was a truly fantastic event. It is always wonderful to be among people who expand the academic horizons of theatre - particularly when it comes to theatre for children, which is so important nowadays. The organisation of the event was excellent. We had the opportunity to listen to a wide array of perspectives and high-quality presentations on diverse topics, ranging from stage design to the position of young people in challenging circumstances and school systems. The festival programme offered a very broad range of formats – from dance and puppetry to music, musicals and physical theatre. It was truly wonderful,” said Dominic Hedges, a theatre-maker and academic researcher from London whose work focuses on young people on stage and the ways in which adult audiences respond to their presence.

Jingya Peng, a doctoral researcher at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, whose research focuses on the application of elements of Peking Opera to actors’ physical training, highlighted that participating in the Forum and Festival had given her a new perspective: “This is the first time I have participated in a festival like this, and my experience in Subotica gave me something completely new – the opportunity, as an adult, to step into the world of children and try to see it through their eyes. The performances I saw and the topics we discussed during the Forum encouraged me to reconsider my own research. Although it is currently focused on adult acting students, the Festival opened up the possibility of thinking about how this methodology could be applied in the future when working with children and young people. I am very grateful to the Festival in Subotica for the new ideas and inspiration it has given me.”

The Forum participants were Dr and Dr Art Agota Vitkai Kučera (Serbia), Sahar Shahgaldi (Canada), Ali Pilehdarboni (Canada), Dominic Hedges (United Kingdom), Dr Erika Hughes (United Kingdom), Dr Ewa Tomaszewska (Poland), Dr Carmen Gloria Sánchez Duque (Chile), Gonzalo Andrés Ruiz Muñoz (Chile), Dr Jeremy Turner (Wales), Jingya Peng (China), Lazaraki Vasiliki (Greece), Dr Mari Rhian Owen (Wales), Marijana Petrović (Serbia), Milica Šećerov (Serbia), Miltiadis Tzouvaras (Greece), Dr Nina Ilić (Serbia), Dr Petrus du Preez (South Africa), Svjetlana Pravdić (Serbia), Dr Art Uroš Isak Mladenović (Serbia), Zsófia Bálint (Hungary), and Dr Art Ivan Pravdić (Serbia).

The Forum was organised by the Open University Subotica and the Theatre Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad, Head of Forum is Prof Marijana Prpa Fink, PhD.

On the fifth day of the 33rd International Festival of Children's Theatres - Subotica, two performances were also presented as part of the competition programme: The Immigrant: a Puppet Tragicomedy in 8 Scenes with an Epilogue by Teatro Firulete from Spain, performed at the Subotica Children's Theatre, and Aladdin and the Magic Lamp by the State Puppet Theatre Ruse from Bulgaria, presented at the Jadran Stage.

“Immigration is a current and important topic for me because I am from Argentina, I live in Spain, and I travel a lot around the world. This is not the first play I have written about immigration, but I do not approach it from a political perspective, but rather from an emotional one. It’s a universal theme – when a person arrives in a new environment, they are confronted with different obstacles and emotions, and children can understand such an experience very well,” said Marcos Vilela, author of The Immigrant: a Puppet Tragicomedy in 8 Scenes with an Epilogue.

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp was directed by Todor Valov, this year’s recipient of the “Little Prince” Lifetime Achievement Award.

“This production was a great challenge for me. We had the right production conditions and the opportunity to do everything necessary to create a proper musical with puppets. I worked with a choreographer throughout the entire process, which was also a new process and way of working for me, involving a large number of collaborators. I also worked closely with the lighting designer, who had his own concept. There are also the actors, dancing and live singing. The production has been very successful so far,” Valov said.

At the Subotica National Theatre, the Subotica Symphony Orchestra performed Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67, one of the best-known works of music written for children. Of the three consecutive performances, one featured narration in Hungarian and two featured narration in Serbian.

As part of the accompanying programme on the fifth day of the festival, a conversation with Oton Tomanić Award recipient Gunnar Horn was held at Hotel Patria.

The book Friends from Nature by author Svjetlana Pravdić was presented at 12 noon at the City Library, while Jovan Caran’s workshop A Universe Made of Cardboard was held at the Danilo Kiš Foundation for Youth Culture and Creativity.

As part of the film programme, the film The Last Whale Singer was screened at the Eurocinema.

On the final day of the festival, Friday, 25 September, audiences will be able to see Everything’s Changing by the China Welfare Institute Children’s Art Theatre from Shanghai as part of the competition programme (Subotica National Theatre, 10 a.m.). At 7 p.m., the closing ceremony will be held at the Subotica Children’s Theatre, where the winners of this year’s festival awards will be announced.

As part of the film programme, The Crystal Planet will be screened at Eurocinema at 11 a.m.

The entire festival programme is available on the festival website: https://www.lutfestsubotica.net/

The International Festival of Children’s Theatres - Subotica is traditionally supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities, and the City of Subotica. The Theatre Museum of Vojvodina acts as the festival’s production partner, while the Open University Subotica serves as its executive producer.