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Directed by Jernej Lorenci and based on the 1980 play by Rudi Šeligo, Wedding was declared the best show of the past theatre season on account of its "combination of the absurd and the political", which was dexterously transposed to the present time.

The international jury said the performance, a story about a man and a woman with mental disabilities who desperately want to wed in order to become a part of the mainstream society, was "individually and collectively convincing".

The show also earned Nina Ivanišin the top prize for lead actress, while Branko Hojnik won the award for best set design.

Janez Škof, the male lead in Wedding, got the top acting award as well, but for his performance in Maja Haderlap's "Angel pozabe" (Angel of Oblivion), another production of the SNG Drama Ljubljana.

The award for best director went to Mateja Koležnik for her work on "Moderne no drame" (Modern No Plays), a play put on by the Slovenian theatre in Trieste.

Goran Ferčec won the award for best dramaturgy for the same play.

The awards were handed out Sunday evening as the curtain dropped on the Borštnik Meeting.

The highlight came with the conferring of the main award, the Borštnik Ring for lifetime achievements, on Vlado Novak, but the recipient had been known in advance.

Although the festival is first and foremost a presentation of the best in Slovenian theatre, it had a distinctly international flavour.

It featured a selection of guest appearances from abroad with a focus on Spain, which critics have described as a much needed fresh wind that helps raise the quality of domestic theatre.