On June 12, 2026, the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater (Mariupol) participated in the 14th BABEL FAST International Festival of Performing Arts in Târgoviște (Romania), organized under the auspices of the Tony Bulandra Theater.
This year’s festival brought together representatives from over twenty countries and served as a major international platform for creative dialogue, professional exchange, and the development of contemporary theater arts. “Time” was the theme of this year’s festival, which once again served as a space for cultural dialogue, mutual understanding, and encounters between different peoples and traditions: discussions centered on memory, the human experience, and art’s ability to reflect on the past and shape the future.
As part of the festival program, THEATER Without a ROOF presented the play “The Edge,” directed by Canadian director Christopher Morris. The performance took place before an international theater community, which included directors, actors, theater critics, cultural project managers, and organizers of international festivals.
The play is based on the Canadian director’s reflection on the tragedy of the Mariupol Drama Theater, which occurred on March 16, 2022, as a result of a Russian airstrike, and will forever remain a painful chapter in Ukraine’s recent history. By presenting the play “The Edge” to an international audience, the theater had the opportunity to share the Ukrainian experience, the tragedies our country is enduring today, and the values that unite people regardless of borders—freedom, humanity, compassion, and responsibility.
For the Donetsk Theater (Mariupol), BABEL FAST has long been a special venue for professional growth and international collaboration; it has served as a vital springboard for engaging with the European theater community and has opened up new opportunities for creative connections, partnerships, and international projects.
An important part of the theater’s participation in BABEL FAST 2026 was a series of professional meetings with leading figures in the European theater scene: the director of the Tony Bulandra Theater, and the founder and enduring inspiration behind the BABEL festival, Mr. Mihai Constantin Ranin.
Christopher Morris (Canada), the director of the play “The Edge,” also attended the festival. This is yet another confirmation that the festival fosters not only professional contacts but also strong human connections that endure for years and serve as the foundation for new international initiatives. These initiatives will contribute to the further integration of Ukrainian theater into the international cultural sphere, the exchange of experiences, the formation of new partnerships, and the strengthening of cultural ties between countries.
As part of the festival program, the theater company took part in a press conference attended by international media. This provided an additional opportunity to showcase the theater’s work and discuss the play *The Boundary*, its artistic concept, and its significance for contemporary Ukrainian theater. The festival events were covered by Romanian media, including the television channel Columna TV.
The Donetsk Theater (Mariupol) expresses its sincere gratitude to the festival organizers, the staff of the “Tony Bulandra” Theater, the management, and the entire BABEL FAST team for the high level of organization, warm welcome, openness to international cooperation, and unwavering support for intercultural dialogue.