Our Spring Reading Series is April 23 - June 1
Main festival will be June 15 - 27

Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival is an annual showcase of contemporary Central and Eastern European theater. The festival honors the legacy of Vaclav Havel with performances that engage with politics, human rights, and other important global questions, featuring work that is bold and often experimental in form.  Each edition of the festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central and Eastern Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist. This is the 10th edition of the festival.

The 2026 Spring Reading Series will run April 23 - June 1. This year's festival, entitled Hope, runs June 15 - 27. 

We hope you can join us.

WATCH ONLINE

A staged reading of four translations of Scene 8 in Vaclav Havel’s play, The Memo (also translated as The Memorandum). An examination of the nuances of translation. Directed by Edward Einhorn, Artistic Director, Rehearsal for Truth Theatre Festival. Performed by Stephanie Litchfield, Eric Oleson, Thomas Shuman.

The reading is followed by a discussion with the translators: - Jennifer Helinek, second-year student in the Master of Arts in Regional Studies - Russia, Eurasia and Eastern Europe (MARS-REERS) program at the Harriman Institute - Josef Nosal, a rising senior student of Radio, Television Dramaturgy and Screenwriting at JAMU and the winner of the Václav Havel Library Foundation’s mini-drama contest. - Lucas Schlesinger, third-year comparative literature major in Columbia College - Paul Wilson, one of Havel’s most prolific translators, having translated multiple plays, books, and essays. Music by William Niederkorn. Moderated by Chris Harwood, Columbia University.

This event is organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation, along with The East Central European Center and the Harriman Institute (both of Columbia University), Untitled Theater Company No. 61, and the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU), New York Chapter. Supported by the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.