Drama of Smaller European Languages (DoSEL)

Drama of Smaller European Languages (DoSEL) is a cooperation project that contributes to safeguarding the cultural and linguistic diversity in the European cultural space, specifically in the drama and theatre sector, by improving the conditions for transnational creation, translation, and performance of European drama, written in smaller European languages. 

The DoSEL project will be implemented through collaboration between European cultural organisations: Prešeren Theatre Kranj from Slovenia (leader of the project), the National Agency for the Performing Arts from Malta, Arriaga Antzokia Theatre and Sala Beckett from Spain, the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, the Estonian Theatre Agency, the National Theatre of Kosovo, and Ivan Vazov National Theatre from Bulgaria.

The DoSEL initiative aims to increase the international recognition and accessibility of dramatic works originally written in smaller European languages and to encourage their more frequent staging.

Project activities will include translation of drama texts, translation workshops and artistic residencies, showcasing performances created in smaller European languages at two international theatre platforms (the international showcase at the 55th Week of Slovenian Drama in Kranj in March 2025, a satellite performance presentation at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb in fall 2025, and the International Showcase in Valletta, Malta, in April 2026), training programmes, and experimental research on contemporary European drama. More than 200 playwrights, translators, and other artists and cultural workers will participate in the project.

At the end of the project, a collection of 24 first translations of drama texts will be published. Texts, originally written in Albanian, Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Estonian, Maltese, and Slovenian will be translated into a major European language (German, French, or English) and one other, smaller European language. These texts will also become a part of a collection of contemporary European drama, compiled and curated with the support of the European Theatre Convention network.

The Drama of Smaller European Languages (DoSEL) (2024-2026) is a medium-scale cooperation project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.