fbpx Roma Theatre | HowlRound Theatre Commons

Roma Theatre

The Roma people are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group living mostly in Europe. Learn more about their rich artistic tradition and exciting contemporary work through the Journal series Roma Theatre in Europe, or watch work from the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2020.

The Latest

Video
Roma Heroes Seventh International Theater Festival in Budapest
Multi-camera Performance Video of Five Shows Presented for a Limited Time by the Independent Theater Hungary
Wednesday 1 October to Sunday 5 October 2025
Budapest, Hungary
Video
Roma Heroes Seventh International Theater Festival in Budapest
Discussions with Contemporary Roma Theatre Artists
Wednesday 7 May to Sunday 11 May 2025
Budapest, Hungary
Essay
Viewpoints for Achieving Authentic Representation of Roma Communities on Stage
by Tímea Éva Bogya, Márton Illés
27 March 2024
event poster for the seventh international roma heroes festival 2025.
Video

Multi-camera Performance Video of Five Shows Presented for a Limited Time by the Independent Theater Hungary

Wednesday 1 October to Sunday 5 October 2025
Budapest, Hungary

The seventh edition of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival took place in May 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. For a limited time, multi-camera, full-length performance videos of the five shows in this year's festival will livestream on HowlRound TV. English subtitles are available.

event poster for the roma heroes play festival.
Video

Discussions with Contemporary Roma Theatre Artists

Wednesday 7 May to Sunday 11 May 2025
Budapest, Hungary

These five days celebrate theatre, paying tribute to independent theatre artists, their dramatic heroes, and Roma communities. 

Poster image for the Roma Heroes Theatre Festival.
Video

Presented by the Independent Theater Hungary

Thursday 28 March 2024

Following a week-long screening of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Sixth Edition, join us for a livestreamed conversation on the featured pieces with the Independent Theater Hungary. Find out more about the individual projects featured in the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival.

A group of people sit in a circle listening to a speaker.
Essay
27 March 2024

Tímea Éva Bogya, dramaturg and project manager for Independent Theater Hungary and critic for Színház Magazine, and Márton Illés explore questions for theatremakers to ask themselves before portraying Roma communities on stage to ensure authentic representation. 

A group of performers hang in small hammocks onstage.
Essay
25 March 2024

Noémi Herczog, theatre critic and scholar based in Hungary and Romania, explores the question of how critics should be writing about Roma theatre. Should they take the social position of the Roma into account, or write purely about the art itself?   

Independent Theatre Hungary AAPAC Workshop Event Poster
Video

Independent Theatre Hungary, Eötvös Loránd University, and Színház Magazine invite you to join a roundtable discussion with the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC). 

Thursday 30 November 2023
Budapest, Hungary

Independent Theatre Hungary, Eötvös Loránd University, and Színház Magazine held a roundtable discussion with the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) who shared their experiences related to ethnic minority representation in the American theatre scene and presented the findings of their Visibility Reports: Racial Representation on New York City Stages. 

event poster for the roma heroes festival 2022.
Video

Presented by the Independent Theater Hungary

Monday 12 September - Friday 16 September 2022
Budapest, Hungary

Independent Theater Hungary presented the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Fifth Edition livestreaming on the commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Monday 12 September to Friday 16 September 2022 at 9 a.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC -7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 17:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 18:00 CEST (Budapest, UTC +2) / 19:00 EEST (Bucharest, UTC +3).

A crowd of people watching a makeshift dragon and horse in the street.
Essay
26 April 2022

Sebastiano Spinella explores the importance of street theatre and the modern significance it still holds.

A performer on stage with white, out-stretched wings.
Essay
12 April 2022

Theatremaker Sonia Carmona shares the impact storytelling can have on empowering marginalized groups of people from her own experience working on Roots and Wings, a HUMAN library from the Poligono Sur.

Cast members standing side by side in a field.
Essay
11 April 2022

Rodrigó Balogh and Márton Illés discuss the process of creating outdoor theatre performances and share their experience producing them with Independent Theatre Hungary.

three performers in set full of projections.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Friday 19 November 2021 and Friday 10 December 2021
Romania

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

performer in front of a projection screen.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Thursday 18 November 2021 and Friday 10 December 2021
United Kingdom

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

close-up of performer with hat on.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Wednesday 17 November 2021 and Thursday 9 December 2021
Ireland

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

 

performer standing behind a still camera.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Tuesday 16 November 2021 and Thursday 9 December 2021
Romania

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

two performers in spotlight, one behind the other.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Friday 12 November 2021 and Wednesday 8 December 2021
Romania

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

poster for the show European Family.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Thursday 11 November 2021 and Wednesday 8 December 2021
United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Hungary

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

three performers in hospital beds.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Wednesday 10 November 2021 and Tuesday 7 December 2021

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

Performer with a bouquet of red paper flowers.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Tuesday 9 November 2021 and Tuesday 7 December 2021
Spain

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

performer in yellow shirt with a puppet.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Friday 5 November 2021 and Monday 6 December 2021
Italy

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

six performers in front of a white background.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Thursday 4 November 2021 and Monday 6 December 2021
Germany, Austria

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

performer in a closet looking out.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Wednesday 3 November 2021 and Friday 3 December 2021
Germany

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

three performers looking directly at us.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Tuesday 2 November 2021 and Friday 3 December 2021
Austria

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

performer portraying an elderly roma woman in front of flowers.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Friday 29 October 2021 and Thursday 2 December 2021
Romania

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

six performers standing in a park.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Thursday 28 October 2021 and Thursday 2 December 2021
Hungary

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

performer in front a projection screen.
Video

Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021

Wednesday 27 October 2021 and Wednesday 1 December 2021
Hungary

Independent Theater Hungary in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons presented the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2021 which included forty livestreams of twenty shows and twenty interviews from Romani artists in ten countries who were featured during four editions of the Roma Heroes International Theater Festival, Budapest.

Subscribe to HowlRound

Sign up for our daily, weekly, or quarterly emails so you never miss the latest theatre conversations.

Sign me up

Support HowlRound

We fundraise to keep all our programs free and open and to pay our contributors. Thank you to all who make our work possible!

Donate today