The 33rd Varna Summer International Theatre Festival has drawn its dazzling curtain! Join us next year for another thrilling celebration of theatre!

The performances “Nostalgic Divertimento” by Sfumato Theatre Workshop and “The Eyes of Arabia” by Varna Puppet Theatre marked the finale of this year’s edition of the country’s largest international theatre event on 11 June. We extend our gratitude to our audiences, partners, and collaborators, and look forward to new encounters!

The 33rd edition of the Varna Summer International Theatre Festival featured 23 events from Bulgarian and international stages in its main programme and 15 accompanying events, reaching thousands of spectators once again. In addition to maintaining a high artistic standard in its programme, the festival provided a platform for the exchange of ideas and the promotion of Bulgarian theatre art to an international audience. This was the focus of its “Showcase” programme, which welcomed theatre professionals from the USA, Korea, and Europe. They attended specially selected Bulgarian performances with English translations and participated in professional meetings and discussions with Bulgarian theatre artists, managers, critics, and researchers. The programme was supported by the National Culture Fund.

The international programme emphasized cultural exchange and collaboration in Southeastern Europe, featuring performances from Romania, Montenegro, and Greece. Their participation was made possible through the “Theatrical Bridges in Southeastern Europe” project, funded by the programme “Presentation to the Bulgarian audience of contemporary European productions from the CCI sector” through the National Culture Fund under the EU Recovery and Sustainability Facility.

For the first time, the Varna audience experienced the authentic sound of Argentine tango nuevo with the two-time Grammy Award winners, the Astor Piazzolla Quintet from Argentina, direct successors of the great composer’s legacy. Their concert was organized in collaboration with A to Jazz Concerts and the Varna Summer International Music Festival.

The festival also hosted a two-day National Conference on Festival and Cultural Tourism, organized by the Ministry of Tourism. The conference discussed the role of festivals as drivers of sustainable tourism and the numerous challenges they face in achieving their goals.

Relive the festival atmosphere through interviews with featured artists and reviews from professional guests on the festivals’s official blog at varnatheatrefest.viafest.org.

We thank our audiences, partners, hosts, and collaborators, and look forward to new encounters with the boundless art of theatre!

The Varna Summer International Theatre Festival 2025 is organized by the Via Fest Foundation with financial support from the Ministry of Culture, Varna Municipality through the Culture Fund, the National Culture Fund, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Goethe-Institut. The festival is also supported by First Investment Bank. Its main host is TMPC – Varna. Other event venues include the Varna State Puppet Theatre, the Festival and Congress Centre – Varna, the Boris Georgiev City Art Gallery, the Archaeological Museum, and Grafit Gallery. The freshness of our Varna Summer was ensured by S.Bernardo Bulgaria – mineral and sparkling water, and Masottina – Wine and Sea.

Media partners of the festival include Bulgarian National Television (BNT), BTA – Varna, BNR – Radio Varna, ARTEFIR on BNR’s Hristo Botev Program, BG Radio, Impressio, Nova Varna, Portal Culture, SCENArt, Literary Newspaper, and Vupreki.