April 23 - June 1 | New York | Rehearsal for Truth: Spring Readings

The 2026 Spring Readings will take place from April 23 – June 1. It will include staged readings and contemporary plays by award-winning European playwrights. All the readings were being presented free of charge, with a requested donation.

This is a unique opportunity to see how the writers of Central and Eastern European are responding to these turbulent times, while also examining how past writers have responded to other times of crisis.  We start on Thursday, April 23 with Ophelia OnlyFans, a Czech play by Tomáš Ráliš, a darkly satirical version of Hamlet focusing on politics and sexual indiscretion. Next on Thursday, May 21 is the Ukranian play Antonina, by Tetiana Kytsenko, the real story of a non-binary soldier fighting against the Russian invasion. Then on Thursday, May 28 we will present Hitler’s President, a Slovak play by Luba Lesna adapting a book by Madeline Vadkerty, an expose of President Tiso and his complicity with Hitler during World War II.

Our final evening, on Monday June 1, may be our most ambitions, as we have newly commissioned short plays using Havel’s signature character, Vaněk, in honor of what would have been Havel’s 90th birthday. We reached out to previous participants in the festival to create this year’s showing. Authors include Maryia Bialkovich (Belarus), Edward Einhorn (USA), Vladislava Fekete (Slovakia), Gabriele Labanauskaite (Lithuania), and Natalie Kocab (Czechia). Read all about the participants and the program here: Vanek 2026.