Venue: Csiky Gergely Hungarian State Theatre
Town: Timișoara, RO

The Csiky Gergely Hungarian State Theatre (Hungarian: Csiky Gergely Állami Magyar Színház) is a Hungarian-language theatre in Timișoara, Romania, founded in 1957. Its predecessor was the Hungarian section of the State Theater in Timișoara, established as a professional theatre in 1953. The first Hungarian theatre performance was given here in 1828 by the Košice Singing and Acting Company, which was a guest in Banat, and the performances of the traveling companies became regular from the 1850s. In 1875, the guest actors of the Budapest National Theatre inaugurated Ede Szigligeti's A nőuralom in the building that houses the current three independent theatres and the Timișoara State Opera. Even Emperor Franz Joseph I attended the event. At the beginning, two theatre troupes operated in the building: one in German and the other in Hungarian, and on 1 February 1885, by a decision of the Timișoara City Hall, the Hungarian troupe obtained the status of permanent professional theatre. The first director of the theater was Ignác Krecsányi. Under his directorship, many actors who later became famous began their careers in Timișoara, including Jenő Janovics, Mihály Fekete, Árpád Latabár and Vilma Medgyaszay. From August 1919, the Hungarian theatre entered a period of decline due to the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the introduction of censorship, new concession conditions, and later, in 1920, due to the fire in which the theatre building burned almost completely. In addition, in 1921, the new law on theatres was promulgated, which discriminated against minority theatres and which practically put an end to the Hungarian professional theatre in Timișoara. The Hungarian-language theatre was practically reborn in 1953, when a troupe was set up consisting of members of the theatre ensemble attached to the Timișoara City Hall and of actors of Jódy Károly's Arad and Timișoara troupes. The first appointed director of the new troupe was Emil Josan. The inauguration took place on