There are 16 professional theater productions that will take place and be financed during the first half of 2026 within the framework of the THIMELI Plan, states the Deputy Ministry of Culture in its announcement, which publishes the results of the THIMELI Plan for the first half of 2026.
In relation to the proposal submission process, the Deputy Ministry reports that 27 applications were submitted by 18 theater organizations, of which five are newly established. Of the 27 applications, one was invalid.
At the same time, the Deputy Ministry of Culture expresses its particular satisfaction for the noticeable improvement and upgrade in the quality of the submitted applications. Additionally, the submission of 8 requests for co-productions is considered positive, of which 5 are among the approved productions of the semester, which proves that the collaboration yields positive results.
The final score is a function of the results of the evaluation of the applications, which combine both qualitative and quantitative criteria. The proposals were evaluated by a five-member Application Evaluation Committee (EAA), which was appointed for this purpose by the Deputy Minister of Culture. The members of the Committee were Margarita Alexandrou, Nikos Theofanous, Marios Konstantinou, Antonis Tsakmakis and Georgia Hoplarou, as mentioned.
"After the end of the evaluation process and on the basis of the Plan's provisions, which limit the number of proposals per institution receiving funding and the total number of approved productions per semester, the 16 applications that secured the highest score will receive state sponsorship for one or more theater productions, according to the intensity and the upper limit of funding specified in the Plan," it is noted.
In addition, the bodies will receive funding for those productions that they will present on tour and/or that involve the staging of a Cypriot work and/or that include inclusion actions. The selected institutions will be disbursed the amount of funding they secured based on the terms and conditions, as stated in the THIMELI Plan.
It is emphasized that all applicants will receive a written response on the ranking of their application, as well as on the detailed score they have secured. The bodies, whose theatrical productions have been approved, should inform the Deputy Ministry in writing whether or not they accept the sponsorship no later than January 16, 2026.
"In case of non-acceptance of a sponsorship from an approved production, the immediately following approved production moves up one place in the ranking, if and as long as the provisions of the plan are met," it added.
The final table of grant amounts will be published after the acceptance or rejection of grants from the 16 approved productions. The Deputy Ministry of Culture will then be able to proceed with funding some of the runner-up proposals with the amount of €20,000, as set out in the Plan.
For transparency purposes, the table with the total score of all proposals is posted on the link of the Deputy Ministry of Culture: https://www.culture.gov.cy/dmculture/dcc.nsf/all/B6F4885E3852490AC2258B880049601C?opendocument
The scores of the 26 producers who applied
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The 26 productions that applied to be financed by the THIMELI Project in the first half of 2026 include "Bloody Stefanas" by Federico García Lorca (co-production ETHAL - Point To & Anyhow - rating: 92.89), "The Mountain" by Louisa Papaloizou (co-production A Vendre & Humart - rating: 90.96), "The Man Who Broke the Code" by Hugh Whitemore (operator: Alpha Square - rating: 90.58), "The Square" by Eleni Anastasiou (co-production of Antilogos Theater & Solo Gia Treis - rating: 89.86), and "The Harmful Effects of Tobacco" by Lena Kitsopoulos (co-production of Dentro & Hypogea Theater - rating: 89.75).
The list of producers that submitted an application also includes Thomas Bernhard's "Before the Departure" (organizer: Satiriko Theater - score: 88.56), "Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp.'' by Caryl Churchill (operator: Open Arts - rating: 88.24), "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith (operator: Theater One - rating: 88.09), "Two and a Half Murders and a Bulldog" by Michalis Reppa - Thanasis Papathanasiou (operator: Theater Anemona - rating: 87.95) and "The Pateras" by Florian Zeller (co-production of Theatro Dentro & TSK - rating: 87.7).
Also, the productions "The Orphans" by Dennis Kelly (host: Satiriko Theater - score: 87.31), "The Brother of Sleep" by Robert Snyder (host: Dionysos Theater - score: 85.7), "The Sleeper of Halepa" by Irene Maradei (host: Anemona Theater - score: 85.25), "Boeing-Boeing" by Marc Camoletti (host: Theater Ena - score: 84.49), and "Namaste!" by Konstantinos Odysseus (host: Theater Dionysos - score: 83.15).
Funding for the first half of 2026 has also been requested by the productions "Play it again Sam" by Woody Allen (operator: Humart - rating: 82.28), "Tonight I'm not for anyone" by Juan Carlos Rubio (co-production by Versus Theater & Roi Theater - rating: 81.52), "Bald Singer" by Eugene Ionesco (co-production Artrat & Audere Productions – rating: 81.5), “Iphigenia Millennium Edition” by Neil LaBute (operator: Alpha Square – rating: 81.28) and “All of it” by Alistair Mcdowall (operator: Anti-Skino Performing Arts – rating: 80.8).
The list of producers is completed by the works "Mythe Mythe are you here? Aesop is coming" by Eleni Odysseos (organizer: Rose Productions - rating: 80.5), "The Prudes" by Anthony Neilson (co-production by Solo For Three & Antilogos Theater - rating: 80.48), "Your son called" by Ignatio del Moral - Margarita Sanchez (co-production by Versus Theater & Roi Theater - rating: 76.42), "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen (co-produced by Audere Productions & Point To - rating: 74.49), "Celebrate the Time of the Plague" by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin (operator: The Temple of Melpomenis - rating: 72.95) and "Tear and Laughter" by Khalil Gibran (operator: The Church of Melpomenis – score: 68.95).
