The 18th edition of the National Theater Festival brings exceptional shows onto Bucharest stages. Between 1-10 November, NTF 2008 will gratify its audience with an “explosion” of top shows from Romania and from abroad, all part of a complex image of today’s theater market. Besides highlighting theatrical novelties, NTF 2008 will start the presentation of young stage directors who made their debut in the last year, and will attempt to foster a closer relationship between the spectator and the show by organizing a series of special events. The 2008 edition of the NTF is comprised of three categories: top Romanian shows (Romanian Showcase), foreign shows invited to the festival (International Voices), and Debut (New Entry). For the Romanian Showcase category shows were selected that may successfully represent Romanian theater abroad. Apart from the Romanian audiences, the NTF invited international promoters and foreign festival and theater directors with the aim of including these shows in the programs of the events under their supervision. The New Entry category is designed to present first theatrical productions by young or very young stage directors. In 2008 this category includes seven debuts that have the power to keep the Romanian theatrical movement in good shape. The International Voices category brings to the event various theatrical realities from France, Russia, UK, Germany and Latvia. “At NTF 2008, stage directors and international theater companies will be present that map out the new tendencies in world theater, with shows that were either nominated for or awarded European prizes and presented this year in many other prestigious festivals. By inviting important theater people like Richard Foreman, Kama Ginkas, Alvis Hermanis, Rimini Protokoll, Joel Pommerat, Lev Erenburg, Romanian theater becomes part of the present-day theatrical circuit. We hope that the expectations of the audiences who will watch these shows will rise, and that the Romanian artists will connect with world theater and gain new points of reference,” says the artistic director of the event, the theater critic Cristina Modreanu. The NTF 2008 offer is complemented by special sections: Dance Showcase (with the National Dance Center), New Entry (with the Comedy Theater), and Indie Nights (with Luni / Monday Theater at Green Hours). What is new in the 2008 edition, aside from the New Entry section? Scena.ro, the magazine of the National Theater Festival; workshops for performance arts professionals; the launching of the Theater Market project; and the re-launching of the NTF website – www.fnt.ro The shows will be hosted by several Bucharest theaters (I. L. Caragiale National Theater, Odeon Theater, Comedy Theater, Nottara Theater, Ion Creanga Theater, and Ion Dacian Operetta Theater. A traditionally important role is played by I. L. Caragiale National Theater which placed all its auditoriums at the disposal of the NTF. The NTF meetings, workshops and conferences will take place at the National University of Theatrical and Cinematographic Art, book launching at Carturesti bookstore, the dance shows at the National Dance Center, and most of the Independent Theater Nights at LUNI Theater at Green Hours. The National Theater Festival is financed by the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs and Bucharest City Hall, and produced by the Romanian Theaters’ Association (UNITER).