The time of year has arrived for the Cultural Centre Michalis Pieris of the University of Cyprus to open its doors once again to welcome artists, the university community and the wider public to the events of the 28th Cultural Festival of the University of Cyprus.

A rich cultural programme has been created to enrich the capital’s evenings with an abundance of cultural performances starting on Thursday and lasting until July 17.

The rich and multifaceted programme features a diverse range of artistic events with more than 250 contributors from Cyprus and abroad. It includes concerts spanning a wide variety of musical genres, theatrical performances, contemporary dance, poetry evenings, talks and free workshops by internationally renowned artists.

Alongside acclaimed and distinguished creators visiting Cyprus for the first time – such as Carles Dénia, Dobrawa Czocher, and the celebrated Kudsi Erguner – the festival also features up-and-coming groups with talented musicians and performers presenting their latest pieces.

In the realm of theatre, audiences will enjoy productions featuring prominent names from the Cypriot stage, who will bring to life ancient drama, folk songs, comedy and powerful works from world literature. The University of Cyprus’ Theatre Workshop will also contribute to the festival by reviving, after 26 years, its second-ever production: the Constantinopolitan comedy O Fiakas by Demosthenes K. Misitzis.

The programme also includes a literary-artistic event featuring the exceptional Savina Yannatou, organised on the occasion of the open-access digital release of the unpublished correspondence between two leading poets of the post-war generation: Takis Sinopoulos and Giorgis Pavlopoulos.

This year, the cultural centre is expanding its collaborations with the diplomatic community in Cyprus and prominent cultural institutions abroad, aiming to attract established international artists and strengthen global cultural ties. As part of this initiative, the first part of the festival is presented in collaboration with the embassies of Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Poland, as well as with the renowned Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Poland and the Cervantes Institute in Nicosia.

This Thursday, the festival’s first performance will take place. Eidekanos Theatre will present Of the Dead Brother – A Story of Exile, a contemporary interpretation of one of the oldest and most iconic folk ballads of the Mediterranean and the Balkans.

Three female performers will share their personal reflections, sometimes challenging and other times highlighting the timelessness and poetic power of the folk song Of the Dead Brother. Themes such as exile, the role of women, and the handling of death will be explored from a contemporary perspective, opening a dialogue between the poem and today’s reality.

Every week, new productions will fill downtown Nicosia with cultural masterpieces from the realm of theatre, music, poetry, literature and dance. Stay tuned for all of the upcoming shows.

28th Cultural Festival of the University of Cyprus

Annual festival with cultural performances from Cyprus and abroad. June 5-July 17. Michalis Pieris Cultural Centre UCY, Nicosia. Tel: 22-894531-2, www.ucy.ac.cy