18 June to 5 July 2026 at different locations in Chemnitz
Nine international curators will be responsible for the festival curation of Theater der Welt 2026.
With Simon Abrahams (Australia), Joshua Dalledonne (Canada), Rodrigo González Alvarado (Colombia, Argentina), Faye Kabali-Kagwa (South Africa), Nikos Mavrakis (Greece), Aya Nabulsi (Jordan, Saudi Arabia), Srishti Ray (India), Ndèye Mané Touré (Senegal) and Yuan Zhang (China), the team has been constituted and the curatorial work has begun.
The programme is expected to be announced in March 2026.
About the curators
Ndèye Mané Touré (Senegal) holds a Master in Business Administration at the African Institute of Management (I.A.M Dakar), she works in the administration and production of various cultural projects, including dance, music, visual arts, and cinema. With fifteen years of experience, Mané is the head of Makeda Production, a company under Senegalese law, specializing in the design and production of artistic products and in the organization of events. Mané initiated in 2023 the Bideew Festival which is a constellation of disciplines around astronomy, art, gastronomy, science and technology in rural areas.
Faye Kabali-Kagwa (South Africa) is a cultural curator, arts coordinator, and writer with a keen focus on youth voices. In 2023 Faye was the curator for the Cradle of Creativity Festival which took place in Johannesburg and featured 27 productions from South Africa and abroad. In her work with ASSITEJ South Africa she runs the Unlocking Learners’ Creativity project in the Western Cape, as well as heading the 10Children project, amongst others. Faye was awarded the 2024 Artfleunce Human Rights Youth Activism Award by the Artfluence Human Rights Festival, and in 2021 was named one of the Mail & Guardians Top 200 Young South Africans. She has an uncanny ability to read the pulse of the cultural zeitgeist and builds interventions that go beyond artistic output, oftentimes with audiences as engaged contributors to her work. Faye’s writing has included reflecting on contemporary theatre and their commentary on land reformation, same-sex schools and coded patriarchy as well as reminiscing on important ephemeral cultural spaces. Faye has been published in the Mail & Guardian, New Frame, and Culture Review.
Joshua Dalledonne (Canada) is an artistic producer and programmer for live performance and community activations. Believing in the transformative power of creativity, collaboration, and kindness he gathers artists and audiences to make the world a more welcoming place. An advocate for equity-seeking artists and communities, he is deeply invested in a programmatic vision that centres the relationship between audience and artist. Beginning his career with the UK’s Birmingham Repertory Theatre Josh honed his practice internationally, across Canada, and in his hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada – most recently with Arts Commons as Associate Director Creative. An actor and playwright, his works for young people have been commissioned and produced across Alberta. Josh serves on the Association of Performing Arts Professionals’ advisory committee and as Vice Chair for Calgary Arts Academy. A proud member of the Queer community, he loves skiing, hiking and traveling with his husband Max.
Rodrigo González Alvarado (Colombia/Argentina). Born in Tunja (Colombia) and based in Buenos Aires (Argentina), he holds a B.A. in Theater Directing from Universidad de Palermo (Buenos Aires, Argentina). He works as a cultural practitioner with a focus on performing arts and international performing arts festivals. He has worked as curator, producer, translator, and professor; working towards a fair and truthful exchange is his guiding principle. He coordinated and co-curated the MARKET/FIBA during the past six editions (2019–2024) where presenters, curators, producers, and artists converge. This event is held within the Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires (FIBA), a public Festival funded by the Ministry of Culture. As an artist, he specializes in analog-reality experiences, which feature documentary objects and no actors or actresses. He teaches at Universidad de Palermo and the Centro Universitario de Idiomas at Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Aya Nabulsi (Jordan/Saudi Arabia) is an accomplished theater producer and cultural programmer with extensive experience in the arts and culture industry across the Middle East and North Africa. Currently serving as Theater Producer and Programmer at Ithra in Saudi Arabia, Aya brings innovative programming and strategic vision to one of the region's leading cultural institutions. Aya's career spans diverse roles, including Executive Director at Al Balad Theater in Amman, Senior Arts Manager at Seenaryo, and cultural programming consultant for prominent organizations such as Jack Morton and Tajalla for Arts & Culture. With freelance experience in festival management and a focus on audience engagement, Aya has cultivated a deep understanding of creative processes and cultural programming. Aya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts with a focus on TV/Radio/Film and Theatre from the Lebanese American University in Beirut. Alongside her professional accomplishments, she has honed her expertise through prestigious training programs in festival management, facilitation skills, and leadership, reflecting a commitment to continuous growth and excellence.
Nikos Mavrakis (Greece) has worked in cultural management since 2014 and international relations since 2019. He is the founder and managing director of TooFarEast, promoting contemporary performing arts through international projects and tours. He collaborates with Albanian director Mario Banushi, and the choreographers Patricia Apergi, Chara Kotsali, Christiana Kosiari and Panos Malactos. Past partners include Romeo Castellucci, Jochen Sandig & Sasha Waltz and Euripides Laskaridis. A graduate of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Goldsmiths University of London, he co-founded OMAZ and is an alumnus of the Festival Academy and IETM member. In 2024, he joined the Goethe Institut’s Global Cultural Relations Programme and will revive Thessaloniki's experimental Amalia Theatre in 2025 to support emerging artists.
Simon Abrahams (Australia) is Creative Director & CEO of Melbourne Fringe, where he is recognised as one of Australia’s arts and cultural leaders. Simon is a current Australian Ministerial appointment to the Creative Workplaces Council, a Trustee for the Betty Amsden Foundation, and a member of the International Society for the Performing Arts Board Programming Committee (New York). He is a life member of Theatre Network Australia, an organisation he co-founded then Chaired from 2010-2017. Simon’s work explores the intersection of art and civic participation, with particular expertise in children, young people and the arts. Previously, Simon has served as Head of Programming at the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing & Ideas and as Executive Producer and Co-CEO at Polyglot Theatre (2007-12). Simon regularly works as a facilitator, host, peer assessor, mentor, judge and arts consultant. In his personal capacity, Simon is a proud foster carer, caring for vulnerable and at-risk children in his home.
Srishti Ray (India) is passionate about all performing arts - music, dance and theatre. Armed with a masters degree in Arts Management, she is presently an Associate Producer with the Bombay based theatre company QTP Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. She has worked on QTP productions such as Lungs (2022), Lunch Girls (2020), Mother Courage & Her Children (2017), White Rabbit, Red Rabbit (2016) and NCPA's The Mirror Crack'd (2020), in various capacities. She has also led Thespo, QTP's youth theatre initiative, as a Fellow (2016-2018), and is now an active and dedicated mentor to the current Thespo Fellows and Coordinators. She has worked on other festivals and conferences such as Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest, Art of the Possible, and Love, Sex and Data. She has also co-authored a chapter in The Routledge Companion’s Theatre & Young People published in 2023. In addition to her theatre work, she has trained as a Kathak dancer for more than 15 years, and also teaches the dance form.
Yuan Zhang (China) is based in Shanghai and a curator and producer in the field of contemporary performing arts. Since 2006, he has been committed to promoting local practices as well as international exchanges. In the last decade, by working with festivals, theaters and art museums, he has been exploring the potential of performing arts, bridging theater and contemporary art, the two distinct art institutions, He is connected to and has been active in the Chinese independent scene, and quite a few professional networks in Asia and Europe. In addition, he also engages in research, writing, translating as well performing. Recently, he co-curated Re-writing Theater History, the archival exhibition of contemporary performing arts in China from the late 90’s till today.
*THEATER DER WELT is a festival of the German Centre of the International Theatre Institute e.V. and has been taking place in a different German city every three years since 1981. The 13th festival edition from 18 June to 5 July 2026 is organized by Theater Chemnitz, The Festival Academy and Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH. Directors of the festival are Christoph Dittrich (General Director of Theater Chemnitz), Inge Ceustermans (General Director of The Festival Academy) and Stefan Schmidtke (Managing Director, Programme of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH).