Between 3 and 6 June 2026, the Thalia Germanica international conference, entitled Deutschsprachiges Theater als Medium des europäischen Kulturtransfers (German-language theatre as a medium of European cultural transfer), was held in Prague, in cooperation with the Czech Theatre Studies Cabinet (Kabinett für das Studium des tschechischen Theaters, NIK).
At the conference, Jakab Júlia, a third-year doctoral student at the Doctoral School of Hungarology, supervised by Professor Dr. T. Szabó Levente, presented part of her doctoral research in German. In her paper, she examined the actress and operetta prima donna Ilka Pálmay’s attempt to build a career in the German-language theatrical milieu of the United States. Through this case study, she highlighted the transatlantic theatrical phenomenon of the late nineteenth century, as well as the opportunities and challenges that a Hungarian artist could encounter in the world of overseas theatre at the time, including ethnic theatres and vaudeville.
The event was also attended by two faculty members of the Department of German Language and Literature in Cluj: Dr. Tar Gabriella-Nóra, Vice-President of Thalia Germanica, and Dr. Ursula Wittstock. Researchers from Graz, Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Zagreb, Uppsala, Paris, Gdańsk, Tallinn, and Glasgow were also present.
The detailed programme of the conference is available on the Thalia Germanica website: https://thaliagermanica.org/prager-tagung-3-6-juni-2026-2/ Thalia Germanica is an international scholarly association with more than three decades of activity, dedicated to researching the history and contemporary phenomena of German-language theatre in regions outside today’s German-speaking area. Its biennial conferences aim to promote international scholarly dialogue. 
