Slovak writer and director Dodo Gombar brings his newest work to New York, spending a week rehearsing locally with New York actors. The text is written in an abstract way, without set characters or stage directions, featuring twelve scenes connected by a certain kind of extreme. It explores relationships, stereotypes, uncertainties, and tensions through language cut to the bone and silence that speaks. A network of intertwined happenings leads to crossing our intimate borders, crossing our own portal, and ultimately finding hope for the future.

Portal (Slovakia). Written and directed by: Dodo Gombar. With: Signy Ackermann, Rose Kanj, Sophia Mucha, Kingsley Nwaogu, Richard Toth. Presented in English.

This event is part of the 2026 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival: Hope. For more information, visit rehearsalfortruth.org.

Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $25. Seats are limited, on first-come, first-served basis. Online registration is required.

---

About

Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, honoring Vaclav Havel, is a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Vaclav Havel Center and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association, the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel. The 2026 festival is being produced in partnership with Untitled Theater Company No. 61.

Each edition of Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central and Eastern Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

---