World Theatre Day

27 March was declared the World Theatre Day in 1962. The initiative came from the International Theatre Institute (ITI), which was founded by theatre and dance experts and UNESCO in 1948. Theatres, theatre and dance institutions, theatre and performing arts universities, theatre and dance creators, and theatre and dance lovers around the world are invited to celebrate.

Drama and other theatre works, puppet shows, experimental theatre performances, modern dance and ballet, and opera and other musical works are statistically classified as theatrical performances in a broader sense. These events are organised by theatres and the two opera houses, as well as by houses of culture and cultural centres.

The following is an overview of theatre activities in 2022.

Among all performances, more than 31% are theatrical

In total, cultural institutions prepared 7,638 different theatrical performances, i.e. on average 21 per day. Almost half of all theatrical performances (49%) were classified as drama and other theatre works. Almost three quarters (74%) of these performances were self-produced or co-produced by cultural institutions, the rest were guest performances.

Over half of visitors attending theatrical performances saw drama works

Theatrical performances in cultural institutions were seen by about 1,047,000 persons, each on average by 137 persons. The largest attendance was recorded at drama and other theatre works (almost 580,000 or 55%), followed by puppet shows, opera or other musical works, etc. Experimental theatres performances had the lowest attendance.

A more detailed overview shows that, on average, ballet, and opera and other musical works had the most spectators per performance: ballet 438 and opera 422. Experimental theatre performances were held in smaller venues, where each performance was watched by an average of 50 visitors. On average 155 persons attended each performance of drama and other theatre works.

On average five theatrical premieres per day

Cultural institutions prepared 1,856 new theatrical performances. The largest number of premieres was among drama and other theatre works (669), followed by puppet shows (602). The fewest premieres were among ballet (26) and opera performances (35). This means that, on average, cultural institutions prepared about five premieres of various theatrical performances per day.

On the stages of cultural institutions, 2,815 different theatrical performances were available to visitors; 66% of them were premieres and the remaining were repeats of previous seasons. Another interesting fact is that among all theatrical performances, 57% were works by Slovenian authors.

Dramas represent only a small share of published fiction

According to the data of the National and University Library, in 2022 Slovenian publishing houses published 17 titles of dramatic works, which is less than 1% of all titles of published works of fiction. Nine titles were original Slovenian works, and eight were translations.

69% of theatre festivals organised by theatres

Cultural institutions prepared 35 theatre festivals; 24 of them were prepared by theatres. As part of these festivals, 845 events were held, 72% of which were organised by theatres.

In the field of educational activities, cultural institutions offered 886 educational events for the theatre and puppet theatre programme, and 303 events for the dance programme. Around 77,000 visitors attended the former and almost 7,000 the latter.

Theatre creators

In Slovenian theatres, including the two opera houses that have their own premises, and at theatre producers that tour with performances in other institutions (42 in total), various theatrical performances were created by 1,340 employees and 3,036 external collaborators. Among the full-time employees, 14% were under the age of 35.

Among full-time employees, about 54% had an occupation that is classified among cultural occupations (actors, musicians, dancers, writers and other artistic professionals), and the others had technical and other supporting occupations without which performances cannot be prepared (stage workers, IT professionals, make-up artists, dressmakers, managers, etc.).

How are theatres financed?

The total revenues of theatres, operas and other producers of theatrical activities amounted to just over EUR 71.7 million. The share of public resources was 86%.

The total costs for carrying out their activity amounted to EUR 71.5 million. The highest amount was allocated to labour costs for employees and fees for external associates (78%).