Divadlo z Pasáže (the Theatre from Passage) is a professional community theatre, that as the only one of its kind in Slovakia works with people with mental disabilities. The Theatre works in cultural, artistic and social fields, all of which are interlinked. It has been active in Banská Bystrica since 1995 and consists of three organisations.
In the Theatre from passage, in the Day Unit of Theatre and the Sheltered House work 9 employees and perform 14 actors. The three organizations are interconnected and neither could exist without the other two.
We have created our own education system for mentally disabled actors. We helped to establish the non-profit organisation DOM, whose mission was to create sheltered housing for actors of the Theatre. We created the theatre festival Art Therapy; we participated in the creation of several documentaries and feature films. On January 2010 we became City Theatre. Our performance could and can be seen not only in Slovakia and Czech Republic, but also in several other countries in Europe and also in USA. We cooperate with students of several types and levels of schools, where cooperation includes public rehearsals, performances of theatrical production and theatre visits.
The theatre underwent its own development, during which a professional artistic ensemble was formed, consisting of actors with mental disabilities, of people working with them and for them as well as of internal and leading artists from different artistic fields and countries. Theatrical performances, of which there are 28 to date, bring not only artistic statements but also very strong human messages. The work of the Theatre from the Passage is distinctive, because it combines the artistic production and the permanent education of the general public about the position of mentally disabled people in the society.