The Csokonai National Theatre in Debrecen will present 16 new productions, while 15 performances from the previous repertoire will remain on the programme during its new, 161st season, the theatre’s director announced at the opening company meeting of the 2026/27 season on Thursday.
Dániel Vadász highlighted that the new season will offer a particularly broad range of genres, from drama and opera to operetta and musicals, as well as contemporary dance and productions for young audiences.
According to a statement from the theatre sent to the Hungarian News Agency (MTI), the first new production of the season will be Izzik a galagonya, directed by Attila Vidnyánszky Jr. This will be followed by Federico García Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, directed by Attila Keresztes.
The season will also feature productions including Richard III, Dead Poets Society, Mother Courage and Her Children, La Traviata, Eugene Onegin, West Side Story and Csókos asszony.
The season opening also saw the introduction of Ilya Bocsarnikovsz, the theatre’s new artistic director, who will play a key role in the upcoming season. He will direct Richard III, Dead Poets Society and Lajos Barta’s drama Love.
Deputy director Lóránt Bocskor-Salló spoke about the tasks facing the company and the professional challenges of the new season.
Significant changes are also taking place in the dance division. Nikolett Nagy has taken over as head of Gradient Contemporary Ballet Debrecen. She said the company would be renewed with dancers arriving from several countries, while audiences can look forward to two new productions, Hollywood and Troy.
The drama division will welcome Christian Mechle and Aisha Kardffy, while the opera division will be strengthened by László Bartal, Dávid Kozma and Barna Kovács. According to the theatre director, the renewal of the dance division, together with the new members of the drama and opera divisions, will bring fresh creative energy to all three artistic fields.
At the season opening, István Puskás, Debrecen’s deputy mayor for culture, said the role of theatres has become particularly important in today’s turbulent and uncertain world. As he put it, it is important for the theatre to be both a refuge and a compass.
Dániel Vadász said the Csokonai National Theatre is starting the new season from a strong position. During the previous season, the theatre hosted 629 events, including 381 performances, attracting a total of 101,352 spectators.
The goal for the 2026/27 season is for the Csokonai National Theatre to remain one of Debrecen’s leading artistic and community centres – a place that preserves classical values, embraces new theatrical forms, and offers its audience a refuge, a meeting point and a compass.
