As each year on 22-24 September 2012 the international theater festival was held in Nitra. The event draws crowds from all over the world. This year there were more than 12,000 spectators. In addition to the performances played in two main theaters, art shows take place also in the street. Performances tackle themes of contemporary Europe and its citizens. This year two of them presented plays on cooperation with the communist security services and its psychological consequences.

This year's edition of the festival was accompanied by the project "20th Century Parallel Lives – 20th Century Through the Eyes of Secret Police”, coordinated by Divadelná Nitra Association. It will result in creation of six performances, which will premiere at next year's festival in Nitra. They will be prepared on the basis of archival material of the security services operating under communism in the former Soviet Bloc countries. The project brings together theater groups and memory institutes from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. A tour of the performances is also planned in each country of the project participants.

The premiering during next year’s festival performances will be accompanied by additional academic program. It will include meetings with artists and historians, discussions, workshops, exhibitions and film screenings on Europe's communist past. Through the project the organisers would like to draw attention to issues such as: public and personal confrontation with the past, different interpretations of events in different discourses (historical, sociological, political, personal, etc.), how the society in different countries understand history and political practices of the communism era, how secret police and communist governments influenced private lives of people.

For more information about the festival and the"Parallel Lives" project please go to www.nitrafest.sk