CONTACT AND INFORMATION
An International Theatre Institute Festival
THEATER DER WELT
The international theater festival THEATER DER WELT is held every three years in a different German city.
Project Links
Inspired by the Theater der Nationen festival (1979, Hamburg), THEATER DER WELT was founded in 1981 by the ITI Center Germany and has since presented major performing arts productions from every continent every three years.
The ITI is the festival’s main convener and, through a selection process, awards the right to host the festival to a different city every three years. The selection process for the 2029 edition has already been completed; a corresponding press release will follow in 2027.
The call for proposals for THEATER DER WELT 2032 will be published in 2028.
THEATER DER WELT 2026 in Chemnitz
With 33 productions from around the world, three world premieres, as well as 11 European premieres and 18 German premieres, THEATER DER WELT in Chemnitz offered its approximately 18,000 visitors a spectacular international program. This program had been developed through a collaborative process involving nine international curators. In total, more than 200 events featuring over 400 artists transformed Chemnitz into a hub of international exchange. The ITI complemented the program with its annual conference, Bridging the Gaps. Connecting the Dots, as well as the exhibition UM-AUF-AB-AUS-NEU, presenting 35 years of festival history.
Past Festival Editions
The ITI manages the archive for THEATER DER WELT and serves as the point of contact for questions and inquiries. You can find the programs for all editions there.
Past festival editions: Cologne (1981), Frankfurt a.M. (1985), Stuttgart (1987), Hamburg (1989), Essen (1991), Munich (1993), Dresden (1996), Berlin (1999), Cologne-Bonn-Düsseldorf-Duisburg (2002), Stuttgart (2005), Halle (2008), Mülheim and Essen (2010), Mannheim (2014), Hamburg (2017), Düsseldorf (2021), Frankfurt a.M. / Offenbach (2023), Chemnitz (2026)
Further Information
THEATER DER WELT receives its core funding in three equal parts from the host city, the respective state, and the federal government (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media). ITI manages the archives of Theater der Welt festival and is the point of contact for questions and contacts regarding the various festival editions.
Find the Festival Statutes here (German).
