With poetic puppet theatre from Indonesia, political opera from South Africa, and powerful acting performance from Czechia, the first three program highlights of the THEATER DER WELT 2026 festival are now available in presale. Germany's largest international festival for contemporary performing arts will take place in Chemnitz from 18 June to 5 July 2026.
The complete festival program will be published on March 26, 2026. A total of around 30 productions from all continents will be shown at the THEATER DER WELT festival.
Simon Abrahams (Australia), Joshua Dalledonne (Canada), Rodrigo Gonález 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).
In presale: Stream of Memory, The Vogue Opera, and Amadoka
On 19 and 20 June, THEATER DER WELT presents the Indonesian Papermoon Puppet Theatre with the European premiere of Stream of Memory. With artfully crafted puppets, dance, music, and video, a poetic, wordless theater experience about memory, transience, and connectedness is created – touching for all generations.
On June 23 and 24, South Africa brings its vibrant musical theater energy to the stage with Nkoli: The Vogue Opera, developed by Philip Miller, which pays tribute to the life of anti-apartheid activist Simon Nkoli. Inspired by ballroom and voguing culture, the evening combines contemporary opera with dance, political messages, and an exuberant zest for life.
At the end of June, on 27 and 28, Amadoka will be performed at the opera house – a production by Dušan David Pařízek based on the novel trilogy by Sofia Andruchowytsch. Against the backdrop of Ukrainian history and the current war, the production tells a powerful story of memory, identity, and the disappearance of history.
Detailed information about the performances, as well as the ticket sales can be found at theaterderwelt.de.
>> Press release (DE)