The Slovenian Youth Theatre carries its history in its name. And at the same time, it is already surpassing it.
Mladinsko. It was founded in 1955 as the first professional theatre for children and youth in Slovenia. For the first twenty-five years, it created for them. But it did not underestimate young viewers. From the very beginning, it also tackled difficult topics such as the Holocaust, growing up, love in times of revolution... Around 1980, it took a new step and its programme, in which it connected (and still connects) political criticism and provocation with innovative staging procedures and fresh poetics, consciously expanded and attracted audiences of all ages. Mladinsko is not just for young people.
Slovenian. Mladinsko has its home in Ljubljana. This is the house where we compose, create, study, and perform. And yet it is an organism in constant motion, as a good portion of our performances are performed on tour. We have always been around Slovenia and (then) Yugoslavia, and since at least the eighties we have been firmly embedded in the theatrical scene across Europe, and since the nineties also in Latin America and other continents. Our versatile ensemble, capable of extraordinary transformations, has made an unforgettable impression in more than forty countries around the world, whose members are up to musical, movement, or psychological challenges, do not submit to the star system, but support each other to form a harmonious whole. Mladinsko is not just Slovenian.
Theatre. We are a theatre. However, we expect more from the audience than just "watching", we try to establish a dialogue with them and actively involve them. We create performances. However, we do not do this in a vacuum. We critically observe society, comment on it and strive to co-shape it. Mladinsko was – and is – a theatrical organism that tries to penetrate – and penetrates – from the stage into the public space, so that for us it becomes an equal space for performance. Mladinsko is not just a theatre.