Festival of Joy 2025 Has come to an end. Thank You!
The third edition of the international theatre showcase Festival Radosti concluded this year at Divadlo Radost, taking place from October 20 to 26. During a week full of inspiration, theatrical imagination, and meetings, nearly twenty productions were presented from the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Italy, Hungary, and Slovakia.
This year’s edition carried the subtitle “Illusion – Ephemerality – Dreaming”, which became the leitmotif of the entire festival. Creators from across Europe demonstrated how illusion can be used—how it can be built, questioned, and transcended. The productions showed, in various ways, that the world emerging between stage and audience is fleeting, yet real. In these brief moments, insight, awakening, or even a new dream can be born.
The festival jury praised the diverse program, which brought together professional creators, theatre students, and audiences of all ages. The Grand Prix awards were given to Syn (Teatr Wolność, Poland) and War of the Worlds (Divadlo Drak and the International Institute of Puppet Theatre, Czech Republic), recognized primarily for their dialogue between traditional and contemporary theatrical language. The jury also granted three special awards: to UNTOLD (UnterWasser, Italy) for creating a fresh audiovisual experience, to Marcin Ryla-Krystianowski for his strong identification with the puppet Fox in Aby tě husa kopla (Teatr Animacji, Poland), and to the creators of Faust (Magamura Alkotóműhely, Hungary) for creating a “small yet grand” form.
The festival also included a competition for an original dramatic text for children and youth, which saw a record 36 submissions this year. The winning texts were presented in staged readings by actors from Divadlo Radost, with the top prize going to Lapili Okamžiky.
A special highlight of this year’s festival was a full-day meeting with British animator and director Barry Purves, who shared insights from his more than 45-year career in animation and theatrical illusion.
