HNK2EU Cycle Opens with John Malkovich’s "Arms and the Man", Sold Out in AdvanceFrom the theatre — 05. September 2026.
The HNK2EU – a new European Theatre Cycle in Zagreb – opened with a sold-out guest performance of Arms and the Man, produced by the Ivan Vazov National Theatre and directed by John Malkovich.
Last night, Zagreb gained a new space for encounters with European theatre. HNK2EU – the European Theatre Cycle in Zagreb, a new international programme that will bring leading European theatre companies, productions, playwrights, directors and their artistic visions to Zagreb audiences throughout the season – opened with a guest performance by Sofia’s Ivan Vazov National Theatre: George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, directed by actor and director John Malkovich.
Interest from Zagreb audiences in the inaugural presentation of the new cycle was exceptional. Arms and the Man sold out almost two months ahead of the performance, and the auditorium, filled to capacity, confirmed the strong interest in bringing leading European theatre companies and artists to Zagreb. Following the performance, the audience gave the outstanding ensemble of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, composed of Nencho Kostov, Plamen Dimov, Eva Tepavicharova, Kremena Slavcheva, Irina Miteva, Hristo Petkov, Stoyan Pepelanov and Konstantin Elenkov, prolonged applause.
The guest performance by the Ivan Vazov National Theatre was made possible through the successful collaboration between the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb and Bulgaria’s national theatre. This partnership between the two national theatre institutions has become a model of international cultural exchange and serves as the foundation for the new HNK2EU cycle at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.
This collaboration began in May this year, when the CNT Drama ensemble performed Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, directed by Jernej Lorenci, at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia. The Zagreb ensemble enjoyed exceptional success with Sofia audiences, with the performance ending in a several-minute standing ovation. The arrival of Sofia’s national theatre in Zagreb has now continued this collaboration before a Croatian audience.
Arms and the Man premiered in Sofia in 2024 and has continued to attract strong audience interest ever since. It therefore comes as no surprise that the production also drew considerable interest in Zagreb, where tickets for the guest performance sold out almost two months in advance.
Shaw’s anti-war comedy proves remarkably relevant in Malkovich’s production. Through humour, irony and sharp social commentary, the play dismantles romanticised notions of war, heroism and love, confronting them with reality and raising questions that resonate strongly in today’s Europe and a world marked by crises, divisions and armed conflicts. Malkovich returned to Arms and the Man nearly four decades after first directing the play in New York, creating a new interpretation in which Shaw’s provocative wit meets the contradictions of the contemporary world.
Following Sofia, the Berliner Ensemble, one of Europe’s most prestigious and distinctive theatre companies, will appear at HNK2 on 2 October at 7:30 p.m. and 3 October at 6 p.m. with The Scattered, based on the acclaimed play by Tena Štivičić and directed by Laura Linnenbaum. This will mark the renowned Berlin theatre’s first appearance on a Croatian stage, organised by the CNT in Zagreb.
HNK2EU thus launched a new ongoing European theatre cycle in Zagreb, connecting local audiences with leading European theatre companies, artists and a diverse range of contemporary theatrical approaches. At the same time, the cycle forms part of a broader international exchange through which productions and artists from the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb take their work to stages across Europe, while the new HNK2 venue is becoming one of the key places for their encounters in Zagreb.
