Photo by Alena Hrbkova, Graphic design by Katerina Kyselica
THE 2026 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL | june 16 - 27, 2026
Hope
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 festival is a shared endeavor of the Vaclav Havel Center (VHC) and the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA). The 2026 festival is also being produced in partnership with Untitled Theater Company No. 61.
This year's festival, entitled Hope, runs June 16 - 27. It features work and artists from Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Hope was once defined by Havel as "not a prognostication...but rather an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed." We believe that creating art is in itself a hopeful act, and that coming to see the works of artists is an important act of hope as well.
The program will primarily feature theater, including full productions from Europe and American workshop collaborations with foreign artists. We also have a set of films about Jewish artists in Poland and we conclude the festival with an evening of comedy. All the programming is free with a suggested donation of $25. Please donate if possible. Finances for the arts have become more difficult every year, and our ability to offer this festival is more dependent than ever on your help.
We also have a fundraising party planned on Monday, June 8 in coordination with Hungarian House. It will feature acts, food, and drink from Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia. We hope you can join!
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Please go through our program and find some shows that appeal. We look forward to seeing you.
“The kind of hope I often think about (especially in situations that are particularly hopeless, such as prison) I understand above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world. Either we have hope within us or we don’t; it’s a dimension of the soul; it’s not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed.”
Organizers
The Vaclav Havel Center
Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association
CO-ORGANIZER
Untitled Theater Company No. 61
CO-PRODUCERS
Action for Democracy
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Austrian Cultural Forum
Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York
Consulate General of Slovakia in New York
Czech Center New York
Divaldo na Zábradlí
FestivALT
Fundacja Teatru Trans-Atlantyk
Hungarian House
Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
Polish Cultural Institute
Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Prague
Švandovo Divadlo
PROMOTION PARTNERS
Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU), New York
Romanian Cultural Institute
FUNDER
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council
FESTIVAL TEAM
Edward Einhorn | Artistic Director
Berit Johnson | Production Manager
D Henry Hanson | Assistant Production Manager
Lucy Zener | Production Assistant
Nu Ave Art | Web Master/Marketing
Marek Soltis | Technical Manager & Sound
Jiri Mirovsky | Technician
Steve Prue | Photography
Katarina Mirovsky | Accounting
Signy Ackermann, Sophia Mucha,
Olenka Tsyhankova, Zoya Lebedinsky | Production Interns
Felicia Einhorn | Box Office Intern
KADS New York, Katerina Kyselica | Brochure Design
VENUE
Bohemian National Hall, New York City
Hungarian House, New York City
A Taste of Central European Theater - fundraising party (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia)
A joint fundraiser with our longtime partner AFHLE, Hungarian House.
Proceeds will be split between Hungarian House and the Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival. RSVP
2026 PROGRAM
Enemies of the People (Hungary)
Directed by János Mohácsi
Performed by Erika Marozsán
Composed by Márton Kovács and Ádám Móser
Enemies of the People is a moving and musical solo performance driven journey through family, history, and self-discovery. More info
If I Had a Gun I’d Take Them All Down (Poland, Ukraine)
Written and with video by Piotr Armianovski
Director/co-creator Paul Bargetto
Performer/co-creator Michael Rubenfeld
From FestivALT and Teatru Trans-Atlantyk
A monodrama, originally created in Kiev by Ukrainian playwright Piotr Armianovski and reinterpreted by Paul Bargetto and Michael Rubenfeld. More info
Europeana (Czechia)
From Divadlo Na zábradlí
Based on the book by Patrik Ouřednik
Dramatized by Dora Štědroňova, Jan Mikulášek
Directed by Jan Mikulášek
The history of Europe in the 20th century described with perspective, humor and caustic irony. More info
KulturDocs (Poland)
Directed by Michael Rubenfeld
Produced by Festivalt, Executive Producer: Magda Rubenfeld Koralewska
Cinematography: Daniel Le Hai
Editor: Dorota Roś
The series features three short documentary episodes spotlighting jazz artist, Mikołaj Trzaska, burlesque performer, Betty Q and queer/trans visual artists, Marcella Poroszanka & Ezra Wojakowski. More info
The Girl on a Trampoline (Czechia)
From Švandovo divadlo
by Pavel Jurda and Ensemble
Directed by Martin Františák
Inspired by the difficult life of Zdena Salivarová and Josef Škvorecký, two exceptional novelists and translators. More info
An Evening of Comedy (Bulgaria, Slovenia, Uzbekistan)
Featuring:
Natan Badalov (Uzbekistan)
Philipp Kostelecky (Slovenia)
Monika Naydenova (Bulgaria)
Come enjoy our closing evening, with some comedy from these Central and Eastern European comics. More info
Portal (Slovakia)
A workshop written and directed by Dodo Gombar
With: Signy Ackermann, Rose Kanj, Sophia Mucha, Kingsley Nwaogu, Richard Toth
Twelve scenes connected by a certain kind of extreme. Relationships, stereotypes, uncertainties, tensions. More info
Out at Sea (Austria, Poland)
By Slawomir Mrozek
Directed by Ira Süssenbach
With Mariana Novak, Petra Stadua, Ira Süssenbach
A workshop production of the classic absurdist Polish play by Slawomir Mrozek about three shipwrecked men on a raft. More info
Production Photos for 2026
