Mario Banushi

Friday 12 June, 12:00 noon
Ca’ Giustinian, Venice

La Biennale di Venezia presented the Silver Lion to the Greek-Albanian director Mario Banushi.

“With his almost autobiographical storytelling, which ranges across the experiences of mourning, lamentation, absence and family traditions, Mario Banushi – as reads the motivation for the award – has revealed himself through his poetic, elliptical language, made of silences rather than words, yet evocative and painfully communicative. Memory, everyday sounds, and the little things in life are the cornerstones around which intimate yet shared, universal ceremonies are celebrated. Memories, dreams, coexistence and loss unfurl in sequences of only apparently simple actions that – on the contrary – between radical realism and perspectival flights into abstract dimensions, open up to symbolic journeys into the archetypes of the human. Banushi’s theatre, so immediately intimate and deeply rooted in the Balkan culture, also knows how to be intelligently political, a sharp stab at the contradictions of our time”.

At the 54^th International Theatre Festival Mario Banushi is to present the trilogy titled Romance Familiare, which includes Ragada, Goodbye Lindita and Taverna Miresia (from 7-14 June at Ca’ Malcanton and Teatro alle Tese).

Mario Banushi (Athens, 1998) is an award-winning theatre director whose work has been presented internationally in cities including New York, London, Berlin, Milan, Vienna, Montreal and Taipei. His artistic practice moves between intimacy and myth, memory and family, articulated through a rigorously visual and non-verbal theatrical language.
Born in Greece and raised in Albania until the age of six when he moved back to Greece, his artistic universe is shaped by the idea of displacement, by family narratives and a distinct visual sensibility. His works have been noted for their visual poetry and emotional depth, unfolding without words and inviting audiences into a sensory experience that transcends conventional theatre.
He studied acting at the Drama School of the Athens Conservatory, graduating in 2020. That same year, he directed his first short film, Pranvera, which was selected for the Tirana International Film Festival. His debut in theatre, Ragada, was created and presented in Athens during the pandemic lockdown, marking the beginning of a practice developed outside conventional theatre spaces.
In 2023, Banushi premiered Goodbye, Lindita at the Experimental Stage of the National Theatre of Greece. The work quickly resonated with audiences and critics alike, leading to sold-out performances and invitations to major international festivals, including the Vienna Festival, the International Theatre Amsterdam, the Adelaide Festival, and BITEF in Belgrade, where he received both the Jovan Ćirilov Special Award and the Politika Award for Best Director. His subsequent work, Taverna Miresia – Mario Bella Anastasia, premiered at the Athens Epidaurus Festival and has been touring internationally in multiple cities, including London, Montreal, and Taipei. Together with his earlier works, it forms the triptych titled Romance Familiare, a cycle that explores family memory through image-driven, text-free theatrical storytelling. His work has been featured in The New York Times and the BBC, and reviewed by The Guardian, Le Monde, and Libération, reflecting the growing international attention surrounding his work. Banushi’s most recent production, MAMI, is an international co-production with leading European festivals and institutions. Premiering in 2025 at Onassis Stegi, the work deepens his poetic and visual language and was met with widespread acclaim following its presentation at the Festival d’Avignon, where critics praised its emotional precision and visual excellence. In 2025, Mario Banushi received the New Theatre Artist Award from the Hellenic Association of Theatre Critics.