The National Festival of University and College Drama was a biennial showcase for university and college “amateur” theatre groups from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. Most of the time the festival was held in Szeged – except in 1968, when Budapest hosted the meeting. The organisational tasks were carried out by the József Attila University and the local youth party organisation (KISZ). The festival, organised by the state authorities, offered many opportunities. On the one hand, the so-called “amateur” bands from universities and colleges could meet and establish contacts with each other. Through the performances, they could exchange experiences and engage in aesthetic-ideological debates, while also gaining access to a wider, national audience, thus escaping their – mainly rural – isolation. On the other hand, the authorities could also control these artistic activities, keeping them within the framework of their own creation.