The subject of the doctoral dissertation is the history of the Kosztolányi DezsĹ‘ Theatre in Subotica, and the artistic work of András Urbán, the current director of the institution. The Kosztolányi DezsĹ‘ Theater (KDSZ) was established in 1994, with the aim of keeping alive the Hungarian language theatre in Vojvodina (Autonomous Province of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by the time), as an initiative of political leaders and theater professionals. The reason for that was that the Hungarian theater in Vojvodina was in the middle of a complex historical and artistic era, described and analyzed in detail later on in the dissertation, which also examines processes affecting and shaping the institution’s current profile. According to different stages of the above mentioned era, the dissertation is split up into three chapters. The first deals with changes in theatre life in Subotica between 1985 and 1995: the most important issue by then, during the Ljubiša Ristić era of the National Theatre was the formal dissolution of the Hungarian ensemble. This chapter presents initiatives to make the Hungarian stage work continuously; it also includes the organizational and administrative work preceding the first premiere of the KDSZ. The second chapter is about the period right after the foundation of the KDSZ, analizing three directoral mandates, during which the audience and theatre criticism has shaped the repertoire; the chapter also looks at how and to what degree experimental theatre came to expression in the first twelve years of the ensemble and its leadership; what difficulties they had to face in a theatre, which neither had a permanent ensemble nor a proper stage to perform. The third chapter is focusing on András Urbán’s artistic work. This chapter does not deal with procedural and institutional questions, instead of these, it analizes specific performances and shows, which have been dealing with contemporary issues, with an aim to induce thinking, apply provocative visual and verbal communication, direct the audience towards facing the reality. The three periods mentioned above have been approached by applying different methodology, this way creating a complex picture, representing a theatre – as an institution – from its very beginning to the actual creation of a performance, by following working mechanisms, effects and reflections all way long of the creative process.