„One of our favorite events in Bucharest.” Metropotam
„Spectacular is the word which best describes the atmosphere of the festival” Yorick.ro
More than four hundred international artists will come to Bucharest between the 13th of July and the 5th of August for the 10th edition of Bucharest International Street Theater Festival – B-Fit in the Street! organized by the City Hall of Bucharest via ARCUB.
The anniversary edition of the festival puts forth a program which is more eclectic and dynamic than ever; in 2018 it celebrates ten years of existence as well as the Centenary of the Great Union with the largest selection of Romanian productions ever.
Entitled “A Romanian Story in the Centennial Year”, the 2018 edition of Bucharest International Street Theater Festival is one of the amplest events of the Centennial year; there are four weekends which feature more than forty shows from twelve participating countries and dozens of performances in the key areas of Bucharest.
Artists from Asia, South America, and Europe will surprise the public with the diversity of their artistic languages, from pantomime to circus, dance, acrobatics, street music, theater on stilts, fire juggling and acrobatics.
This is the first time when the program of the festival includes interactive installations which turn emblematic places in Bucharest into colorful playgrounds, educational shows, and workshops for children organized by Romanian artists.
The program of the anniversary edition includes:
Romanian productions: The first ample Romanian production will reinterpret the fairytale of Harap-Alb for the first time, while Romanian circus performers, acrobats, and artists on stilts will perform theater shows in the street next to international artists.
Interactive installations: For the first time at FITSB, gigantic installations placed in central areas can be explored by city dwellers and tourists throughout the festival. Danish artist Karoline H. Larsen will bring “Collective Strings” to Bucharest for the first time, an installation made of three hundred kilometers of colored rope, which allows people to change the public space in a creative and free way.
Workshops for children: During every weekend of the festival, Cişmigiu Park will host educational workshops for the little ones, from workshops of percussion, drama and pantomime classes to doll-making workshops, workshops of science through theater and workshops of magic.
Night shows: One of the climactic moments of the festival will be provided by large scales productions programmed only during weekend evenings. In addition to the shows of aerial acrobatics which manage to attract a very large public every year, in 2018, B-FIT in the Street! brings night shows on water, which promise to impress the public by means of light and fire games, floating scenery, and surrealist scenes. The French show “Water Fools” will turn the lake in Cişmigiu Park into the stage of a carnival on water, with a strong visual impact.
Parades: The Revolution Square, Odeon Theater Small Square and other key areas in Bucharest will host a wide range of street theater shows- fire juggling, performances for children, shows with a strong visual impact and astronomy sessions for young and old alike. During his trip around the world, Japanese artist Performer Monk will stop in Bucharest to hold a show of acrobatics and fire juggling presented during festivals in Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, and Turkey.
Travelling shows: The Old City and the University Square will brim with life during the nine days of the festival thanks to samba rhythms, Latino dances, juggling on stilts, interactive dance performances, and live music representations. “Coloured People” is a 30-year old show which triggered sensational reactions in Canada, Brazil, Europe, and Asia, and in 2018 it will test the passers-by in Bucharest with the unexpected appearances of the French artists.
Launched in 2007, Bucharest International Street Theater B-Fit in the Street! is the only street theater festival in Bucharest. After the success of the first eight editions, which managed to gather more than 20.00 participants every year during only four days of festival, in 2017 FITSB extended the program to a month of events and thus it became the biggest street theater festival in Romania. In 2018, FITSB will celebrate the 10th edition with four weekends of shows held between the 13th of July and the 5th of August.