The Janus University Theatre was founded in 1996. Pécs had a long tradition of university drama. The Örkény trilogy of the Open Stage of the Teachers’ Training College in the 1980s created a national professional resonance, while the University Stage in the Pécs Kisszínház (Little Theatre) produced its productions in the early 1990s with great success with the audience. But by the mid-1990s, institutional reorganisations and budget cuts forced university theatre out of the city’s artistic and cultural institutions.

Therefore János Mikuli and Ernő András Tóth took the initiative (with the support of several university officials and teachers) to create a student theatre under the auspices of the (J)PTE.

In the first season of the JUT, a programme was already established which still fundamentally determines the functioning of the theatre: the Janus University Theatre’s own performances; training courses, training sessions, camps and related student performances; inclusive theatre performances (from the best productions of alternative and experimental theatres in Hungary).

In autumn 1997, the Janus University Theatre opened in the basement of one of the university’s buildings.

During the intense work, the student cast was formed and became more and more skilled, but also older alternative actors and professionals joined the company. From the beginning, JUT has worked with several directors. Perhaps this has enabled the company to remain open, to speak in many different theatrical languages and to work continuously. With a company of 30 to 50 people, it gives 4 to 5 performances a year and plays to an audience between 80 and 90 times.

JUT has been present at the most important alternative festivals in Hungary since 1997 and its productions have won several awards. Since 1999, the JUT has regularly represented hungarian alternative theatre at international events (Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Belgium).

In the spring of 2000, the ceiling of the Jut theatre hall cracked, making it unsuitable for theatre work, so the Janus University Theatre worked in the National Theatre of Pécs between 2000 and 2002, presenting its performances there. In early February 2003, the new venue of the Jut was completed on the campus (Szántó Kovács János u. 1.), which was redesigned in 2008. (JUT was awarded the PTE Award for University Culture in 2006) Its contacts have expanded and its festival has become an international event.

In the autumn of 2011, the 15-year-old Janus University Theatre took over professional studio theatre spaces in the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter.