The István Horváth Jr National Amateur Theatre festival (Ifj. Horváth István Országos Színjátszó Fesztivál) was organized for the first time in 1972 with the help of the Kazinbarcika City Council, the Cultural Centre, the social organizations and enterprises of the city, the Institute of Popular Culture and the support of the Borsod County Council. The event, which was held regularly every two years, was open to groups that had achieved outstanding results in various student, university, town, worker, village and armed forces festivals, in addition to the nationally recognised, prominent ensembles that had been operating for several years. Already at the second festival in 1974, an international conference and performances by international ensembles took place. The international opening was due to the fact that Hungary had joined the International Amateur Theatre Association (AITA/IATA) in 1973. In addition to performances, there were also discussions on issues concerning amateur theatres and debates on the performances of the previous day of the festival. For forty years, from 1972 to 2012, the festival presented the best “amateur” companies in the country and served as a national (public) forum for them.

See the productions, the interviews and the reference list here: