Drama festival puts spotlight on Romanian prison inmates

Inmates perform in the 'State of Siege', by French author Albert Camus, a play describing the arrival of plague in Spain which brings a totalitarian regime to power, at the Nottara Theatre in Bucharest, Romania. Photo: AP

Performing on the main stage of the Nottara Theatre in downtown Bucharest is a dream of every aspiring artist in Romania, where hundreds of prison inmates have gotten that lucky break.

A drama festival organised by the National Penitentiary Administration of Romania gives prisoners the opportunity to appear in theatre productions overseen by professional directors. The Multiart festival was organised to combat stereotypes about people serving time in the penal system and to offer them a route to reintegration.