Earlier this summer, we had the pleasure of supporting Alice Murray, a local creative and passionate theatre practitioner, as she travelled to Romania to take part in the prestigious Sibiu International Theatre Festival (FITS) through Magna Vitae’s cultural partnerships.
Hosted in the beautiful city of Sibiu, FITS offers young creatives the opportunity to immerse themselves in one of Europe’s leading performing arts events – and Alice made the very most of every moment.
Here is what Alice had to say!
When I arrived at FITS 2025, although I was looking forward to it, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
The festival totally blew my expectations out of the water. It was such a vibrant collection of art from across the globe and it was all shared with the guests and the city in the most joyous way.
Theatre has been a big part of my life, so it was nice for me to be able to contribute to the festival’s success and support other artists on their journeys.
Sibiu International Theatre Festival is an amazing experience, which I would recommend to anyone interested in the arts. The city of Sibiu is beautiful and wonderfully welcoming – the perfect place to host this celebration of creativity. It was lovely to meet other volunteers from around the world who had connections to the arts. A collection of set designers, performers, dancers, creative events managers, film makers and more had all come together to make this festival come to life and all contributed their expertise to the team.
Working with the festival team gave me an insight into the depth of organisation and the amount of different teams that such an event requires. I enjoyed working with the visiting companies to make sure their festival experiences were as smooth and pleasant as possible. It was inspiring, as a performer myself, to see so many different shows and to experience how theatre is interpreted across many nations. As someone who does a lot of theatre for young people, it was great to work in Gong Theatre, which is a space dedicated to producing and housing productions for young audiences.
I feel very lucky to have seen almost 30 performances varying from street theatre to puppetry, gigs, Kung Fu, dance, theatre and more, alongside my work as a volunteer. It was also excellent to see how artists are supported through the festival and that freedom of expression is applauded and embraced within the city.
Working at the festival has enhanced my confidence and my knowledge about what is required when producing creative events. This is a sector I have recently come to work in and so gaining this further understanding has been very valuable to my future endeavours. I would also love to return to the festival as a performer and hope that the connections I have made will have opened up the dialogue in order to do so.
To round it off in the theme of this year’s festival, I’d just like to say a big thank you, or more fittingly mulțumesc to the FITS team, Mr Chiriac and Magna Vitae for this fantastic experience.
We are so proud of Alice and everything she’s achieved during her time at FITS 2025.
Her creativity, drive, and openness to new experiences truly reflect the values we stand for at Magna Vitae. It’s been a privilege to support her on this journey, and we can’t wait to see what comes next for her – both locally and internationally!
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