MASZK Association is an entirely non-institutional and non-governmental, non-profit organisation. Since the association was founded in 1991, our aim has always been to introduce and help experimenting, innovative artistic communities. As a result of our activity, the best artists working in a minority-marginal position could also perform in Szeged. The main objective of MASZK is to maintain ALTERRA - Contemporary Performing Arts Centre in the Old Synagogue. In the past twenty-two years, the names of the Old Synagogue, that of THEALTER and of MASZK have gradually formed a close association. So far we have presented some 170 groups from more than 30 countries in our town, many of them for the first time in Hungary. We have participated in several co-productions, carried out continuous production management, have established festivals, and our book and CD publishing was widely acknowledged. From civil management to supporting young talents, we have, in every way, contributed to increasing the national and international fame of Szeged. By presenting independent art groups and fresh and innovative theatres, we have aimed at making Szeged an even more dynamic meeting point for the theatres of the eastern, central and southern European region in these more than twenty years. We believe that we have also contributed to raising the prestige of Hungarian theatre both in the region and in Europe.
In the history of our grown-up festival, 2008 was the year of metamorphosis, and 2009 was the year of illusion. In 2010, we celebrated the seventy-year-old poet Ottó Tolnai with theatre, while 2011 was the year of the next generation, and 2012 was the year of independent theatres.
2014: the year of the 24th THEALTER.


All Szeged is a stage - 23rd THEALTER FESTIVAL

The special guest of the festival is dancer-choreographer Csaba Horváth, the founder and leader of Forte Company, teacher at the University of Theatre and Film Arts.
This year the festival focuses on workshops. Csaba Horváth and Tamás Juronics, dancer-choreographer at the Szeged Contemporary Dance Company, will lead the Tea for Two trainings. Our partners in the project "Let Them Play", supported by EEA/Norway Grants, are Caravan Art
Foundation and Szeged Roma Self-Government.
Beside outstanding local and Hungarian theatre makers and the representatives of the next generations, our international guests were again selected primarily from Eastern and Southern Europe, and we, as usual, have invited some Hungarian productions from beyond our borders. There will be some returning performers, and there will also be first timers both from Hungary and from abroad, including M Studio from Romania, Raúl "Nene" Vargas Torres from Columbia and Mr Pejo's Wandering Dolls from Russia.
There will also be a wide variety of free accompanying events - all in all, during these 9 days, we offer more than 50 events in 9 venues, so hopefully everyone will find something he or she likes. We are certain that our programme series will again be full of surprises and unforgettable moments.
We believe that THEALTER should continue to be a festival which can cherish its traditions and achievements as well as succeed in renewing itself so that it can always offer more to its audiences. When programming the festival events, our goal was both to keep the old values and to create new ones in order to present a strong and energetic independent performing arts scene to the audience, to our community. Our audience is important for us and we hope everyone will feel it. We hope we are also important for our audience. The future continues.