Audience Award for “Girls” at the Zürcher Theater Spektakel!

“Girls”, our play exploring female sexuality and bodily autonomy, received the Audience Award at one of Europe’s most important contemporary performing arts festivals. The prize comes with a grant of 10,000 Swiss francs, marking an immense recognition of our work so far — and a huge encouragement for everything that lies ahead.

The play was also nominated for the festival’s main ZKB Patronage Award, which honors “exciting and distinctive new talents.” This year, that award — worth 30,000 Swiss francs — went to Brazilian director and performer Jéssica Teixeira for her performance “Monga”.

Audience awards are our favorite because they tell us directly that what we do matters — that our play resonates with people and means something to them. Sadly, they also remind us that the play’s themes of sexuality, sex education, and the restriction of women’s reproductive rights remain deeply relevant far beyond Croatia.

We are glad that the European citizens’ initiative My Voice My Choice, launched by the 8th of March Institute from Ljubljana, recently gathered and submitted 1.2 million signatures in support of safe and accessible abortion for all women living in EU countries.

“Girls” was produced in collaboration between the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc and Igralke Collective from Rijeka, together with Zavod VIDNE from Ljubljana. The play premiered in 2023 at the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka. Following “Grannies” (2020), this is the second joint project by Igralke Collective and Tjaša Črnigoj.

Photo: Kira Kind / Zürcher Theater Spektakel