Theatre and Dance

The UNITER Awards Gala was established in 1991 and is one of the most important programmes developed by the Theatre Union in Romania, where the distinctions are offered for the previous calendar year. 

Among the special guest prizes offered during the Gala, the British Council Award stands out as an important distinction, present on the stage ever since 1998. So far, the British Council Award has been offered to:

• between 1998-2001 the Award went to the best theatre managers – Emil Boroghină, Dorel Vişan, Corneliu-Dan Borcia, Constantin Chiriac;
• in 2002 and 2003, the best contemporary British plays were given recognition ("Chips with Everything" at Odeon Theatre and "Stones in His Pocket" at the Hungarian State Theatre in Cluj-Napoca);
• in 2004 and then in 2006, the Award supported the professional development of young artists, offering study scholarships at the Royal Court; 
• in 2005, the British Council award was offered to the project which also included the release of Declan Donellan's volume "The Actor and the Target”;
• in 2010 the British Council award was given to the best staging of a contemporary British  text, that is ”Quartet” of the ”Vasile Alecsandri” National Theatre in Iași, for the brilliant ways in which the actors Violeta Popescu, Mihaela Arsenescu Werner, Florin Mircea and Sergiu Tudose managed to highlight the qualities of the text;
• in 2011, the British Council Award was offered to Ion Caramitru for all the efforts made to support the British-Romanian cultural relationships; 
• in 2012, the British Council Award went to Mr. Emil Boroghină, the President of the International Shakespeare Festival Craiova;
• in 2013, the British Council Award was offered to actor and director Mihai Mălaimare for artistic innovation;
• in 2014, the British Council Award was offered to Mihaela Păun, director of ArCUB - the Cultural Centre of Bucharest Municipality, for cultural management;
• in 2015, Cristiana Gavrilă, Ionuț Corpaci Teodorescu and Viorel Florea, the coordinators of the project titled ”9G – The New Generation”/„9G – Noua Generație” within the ”I.L.Caragiale” National Theatre were the winners of the British Council Award;
• in 2016, the prize was offered to two young actors (Dorin Eugen Ionescu and Alexandra Adina Rădescu) who accepted the challenge of re-reading Shakespeare and performing it in short moments, the event was part of the Shakespeare 400 Year;
• in 2017, the prize was offered to Marina Constantinescu, Artistic Director of the National Theatre Festival, for great achievements in supporting and promoting Romanian-British cultural relations;
• in 2018, the British Council Award was offered to the Replika Educational Theatre Centre, for their activity in promoting and supporting social inclusion and the encouragement of civic involvement.

The Sibiu International Theatre Festival is one of the most important festivals in Romania. We have supported the festival ever since its first edition, 25 years ago. The 2018 anniversary edition was held under the joint patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales and Romania's President, Klaus Iohannis. 

Our partnership with the Sibiu International Theatre Festival dates back to the very beginning of the festival. We are proud of our role in helping the festival organisers to connect with the best of British theatre, as throughout the Festival’s history British performers and institutions have featured prominently in the programme. 

You can see more details about our collaboration for the 2018 edition here

During the eight edition of the Night of Cultural Institutes (2014), the living statues of Masca Theatre presented five essential moments inspired by William Shakespeare's plays. 

Masca Theatre actors Sebastian Ghiță, Liana Pecican, Antoniu Mincă, Alex Floroiu, Ana Iordache, Mihaela Albu, Georgiana Vrațiu, Mihai Hurduc, Laura Borodan and Ștefania Antonescu brought to life some of Shakespeare's most famous characters, under the guidance of stage director Mihai Mălaimare: "Falstaff", "Richard III", "The Taming of the Shrew", "Hamlet" and "Twelfth Night". 

StopGAP performance - Trespass   

The emotional storytelling dance performance by StopGap Dance Company, which integrates dancers with and without disabilities, captivated the Romanian public. This unique initiative challenged traditional notions about dance in Romania and presented dance as a means of physical, psychological and social integration.

The performance was developed by the British Council as part of the New Work New Audiences programme. The programme aimed to share the best and new artistic practice between the UK and Romania. Some of the most stimulating contemporary work being created in the UK was presented in Romania and had a strong emphasis on joint ventures and collaboration between artists and arts organisations from the UK and Romania.

The performance took place in November 2010, in Bucharest, at the Cultural Centre of the Ministry of Administration and Internal Affairs.

About StopGAP

StopGAP Dance Company is a contemporary dance company consisting of dancers with and without disabilities. Founded 14 years ago, the company is regularly funded by the Arts Council England and has been widely acclaimed both in the United Kingdom, as well as internationally.

One of the few contemporary dance companies in the world which supports equal opportunity and social inclusion, StopGAP challenges traditional notions about dance by using each dancer's physical and intellectual potential as a starting point for creating new work.

Trespass was made up of two productions: Within and Splinter, created by Thomas Noone and Rob Tannion. The choreography was meant to challenge the performers to explore and draw on their individual physicalities.