The ring will be presented to the laureate at the closing ceremony of the 50th Borštnik Meeting, the country's top theatre festival, on 25 October.

Belak, who is now retired, has worked in nearly all professional theatres in Slovenia. "She gave everything she had to theatre. That is also the secret of her success," the jury said in a press release announcing the winner on Wednesday.

The jury comprised of actor and Borštnik laureate Janez Hočevar, theatre critic Mojca Jan Zoran, directors Vinko Möderndorfer and Metod Pevec, as well as Borštnik Meeting artistic director Alja Predan.

The festival, which each year showcases the best of Slovenian theatre production, has undergone a conceptual change since Predan took over a few years back, opening it also for foreign productions.

Each year a special focus is given to theatre production from one foreign country. This year, performances from Poland will be in the spotlight when the festival kicks off on 15 October.

Nevertheless, only Slovenian productions compete for the Borštnik Awards, with ten performances scheduled to be staged in the competition programme.