The VARNA SUMMER INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL is part of Varna’s broader festival framework, which also includes other long-established events: a music festival dating back to 1926, a ballet competition founded in 1964, and jazz and folklore festivals launched in 1992. The festival’s main organiser is the Via Fest Foundation, in постоянent partnership with the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Varna, and the Bulgarian Association of Theatre. Founded in 1993, the festival’s first editions consisted of selected Bulgarian productions. After 1995, it developed into an international forum and began offering an accompanying programme in the form of workshops, exhibitions, conferences, seminars, and more. The festival venues also expanded, and alongside its traditional hosts — the Varna Drama Theatre and the Varna State Puppet Theatre — it has also incorporated the Festival and Congress Centre Varna, the Varna City Art Gallery, the Varna Archaeological Museum, Graffit Gallery, and others. The festival has increasingly built partnerships and collaborations with various local, national, and international organisations, through which it organises conference meetings, educational modules, and co-productions.
Over time, the festival programme has been structured around four main modules: Main Programme – Bulgarian Selection; Main Programme – International Selection; Theatre Showcase (organised jointly with Art Office — a platform for innovative and mobile Bulgarian productions, aimed not only at audiences but also at specially invited selectors and programmers from international festivals and organisations); and an Accompanying Programme. This mosaic principle of organisation reflects the ambition to create a space for dialogue, where different forms of theatre, artists from different parts of the world, and diverse audiences can meet.
The VARNA SUMMER INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL is the largest international theatre event in Bulgaria. It is a two-time recipient of the EFFE Label / “European Festival”, a European quality label that is part of the platform Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe, initiated by the European Festivals Association. In 2017, the festival became one of the 26 laureates of the “Remarkable Festival” label and was nominated for the platform’s award.
