WORLD THEATRE DAY, initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute, is celebrated annually on 27 March by ITI centres and the international theatre community. Numerous national and international events are organised to honour the performing arts on this occasion.
Central to WORLD THEATRE DAY is the annual message from a theatre personality who addresses the social significance and impact of the theatre arts. The text is translated into numerous languages and distributed worldwide.
The message for WORLD THEATRE DAY 2026 comes from actor and artistic director of the theatre department of the Biennale di Venezia, Willem Dafoe:
"In a world that seems to be becoming more divided, controlling and violent, it is our job as theatre makers to prevent theatre from degenerating into a purely commercial enterprise devoted to entertainment as a distraction, or from ending up as a dried-up, institutionalised guardian of tradition. Instead, it is our task to promote the strengths of theatre – its ability to connect people, groups and cultures, and above all, to raise objections against the course of events... Great theatre challenges our thinking and encourages us to imagine what we are striving for..."
Read the message:
>> English
>> Deutsch
>> Download Foto (© Brad Trent)
Further material: www.world-theatre-day.org
The message for the first WORLD THEATRE DAY was written by Jean Cocteau, and ambassadors in subsequent years included Arthur Miller, Helene Weigel, Peter Brook, Dmitri Shostakovich, Wole Soyinka, Vaclav Havel, Tankred Dorst, Ariane Mnouchkine, Victor Rascon Banda, Robert Lepage, Augusto Boal, John Malkovich, Dario Fo, Brett Bailey, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Anatoli Vasilyev, Isabelle Huppert, Simon McBurney, Theodoros Terzopoulos and Jon Fosse.
>> All previous messages for WORLD THEATRE DAY.
