Content here focuses on theatremakers, companies, and projects engaging with politics and political action. A great example of the power of this work is the video series Political Theatre as a Civil Right from the British-Romanian political theatre company BÉZNĂ Theatre.
Through inspiring keynote presentations, artist talks, and interactive discussions, this conference explores the dynamic relationship between dance and political activism, with a particular focus on disability, race, gender, and class.
Ash talks with Peter Hussey of Crooked House Theatre about the ways interviews and personal stories shape their youth and documentary theatre, and how intergenerational projects connect people across age and experience.
Ash Marinaccio talks with Scott Illingworth, founder of the Verbatim Salon, where actors perform real stories from those navigating the US immigration system. They explore the creative process and how verbatim theatre sheds light on today’s urgent social issues.
Visionaries in the theatre field lead a community conversation exploring a range of theatrical practices for engaging communities in conflict resolution, healing, and fostering an environment of empathy and care.
Lass uns die Welt vergessen: Volksoper 1938 stages Austria’s fascist past, reckoning with the ghosts of Nazism and their legacies. For Jordan Schildcrout, the docudrama-metamusical becomes an opportunity to interrogate Austria’s history—and to imagine the future of the United States.
Ada Mukhina sits down with global artists and theatremakers—Kiyo Gutiérrez from Mexico, Teddy Mangawa from Zimbabwe, Dijana Milošević from Serbia, and Trà Nguyễn from Vietnam—to discuss their strategies for incorporating both care and risk in performance.
From a four-mile-long human chain to a torchlight ceremony in the rain—the playful, passionate demonstrations and symbols that arose from Hungary's Freeszfe movement inspired artists globally. Todd London and László Upor discuss the movement’s many examples of how artists can use their talents to stand up to tyranny.
Jelinek’s radical play THE SECOND COMING against autocracy and fascism premiered at the Down to Earth Festival in New York, introduced by a fiery speech by the political artist and director Milo Rau and followed by a discussion with Tania Bruguera and Richard Schechner.
The One Nation/One Project (ONOP) campaign paralleled the most consequential United States presidential election of a lifetime. In this conversation, the national political cycle becomes a prism for ONOP team members to reflect on the roles theatremakers play to strengthen our democracy now and move forward in these times.
A Space for Artists, Technologists, Scholars, and Audiences to Create Agency in the Face of End Times Fascism
Wednesday 4 June to Friday 6 June 2025
Ontario, Canada
FOLDA’s eighth edition continues its mission of uniting audiences through innovative, thought-provoking live performances that challenge conventions and spark conversation.
As the world continues to shift under the acts of the current United States presidential administration, the role that theatremakers play in shaping democracy is a hot topic in our industry. Tita Anntares recounts related learnings and conversations that took place at the Festival for Theatre and Democracy in 2024.
A Space for Artists, Activists, and Audiences to Engage With Performance as a Tool for Social Change
Saturday 1 March through Monday 3 March 2025
Chicago, Illinois
The festival is rooted in a commitment to theatre that uplifts and empowers marginalized voices by bringing together individuals and organizations dedicated to using theatre for justice and transformation.
Milo Rau directs readings of Elfriede Jelinek’s new play, translated by Gitta Honegger
Monday 20 January 2025
New York City and Mossul
Democracy is in a serious crisis and people are confused. Elfriede Jelinek responded to Donald Trump’s second election victory with an important text: Endsieg, a grim sequel to Am Königsweg / The Burgher King, her play about the United States election eight years ago. Parallel readings in German and English.
Playwright Javaad Alipoor’s trilogy of plays interrogates how technology, global politics, and fracturing identities are changing our world. He reflects on how technological adaptations and new political circumstances of the past decade have changed the context of the work and what the trilogy might be if written today.
The Ghostlight Project brings theatres and communities together to create light in challenging times. We call on you to celebrate and collaborate with local arts and cultural organizations to amplify our collective impact while working within our means. Ask yourself: how are you keeping your light on?
A Showcase of Diverse Artists and Organizations with Projects that Foreground Migrant Narratives
Monday 16 December 2024
New York City
The Segal will be marking International Migrants Day by showcasing the work of a diverse group of artists and organizations with projects that foreground migrant narratives. The work will highlight the essential role migrants play in the creation of culture. This event is presented in collaboration with the United Nations Network on Migration.
Palestinian performance artist Riham Isaac discusses her site-specific performances, which understand performance as a medium for change. She shares insights into her pieces like Stone on Road and the profound symbolism of resistance in Palestinian art.
Exploring Sustainability of Artistic Practice in the Field of Contemporary Dance
Thursday 21 November 2024
France
The International Contemporary Dance Collective (iCoDaCo) 2024-2027 series of online conferences will explore, throughout the four-year project, what sustainability means in the context of artistic practice—considering everything from time management and self-care to navigating political and social pressures, from the environmental disaster to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution.
Hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson are joined by poets Fargo Tbakhi and George Abraham to explore the intersection of poetry and performance art. They discuss live expression, their collaborative process, and how performance can challenge norms and spark conversations about identity, diaspora, and revolution.
In this event, the co-founder and award-winning director of Nordic Black Theatre in Oslo, Cliff Moustache, talks to Kagiso Lesego Molope about 33 years of directing, his commitment to social justice, and what he has learned in his years of bringing important stories of Black history to the stage.
The musical 1989 became a runaway hit in Poland when it premiered in 2022. Inspired by Hamilton, the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre and the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków revisited Poland’s Solidarity movement through a mixture of hip-hop, rap, and pop.
A talk with Srećko Horvat, Dóra Büki, Matej Drlička, Milo Rau
Tuesday 5 November 2024
Vienna, Austria
Nationalist parties are on the rise across Europe. They instrumentalize fears and divide society. Their first victim is the freedom of art. Representatives of institutions, artists, and activists will share their visions of a global, solidarity-based response to the dangers posed by the new nationalism.
Hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson interview Palestinian African trans drag artist Mama Ganuush. They discuss the vibrant drag scene in San Francisco, Mama Ganuush's journey into drag, and the intersection of activism, identity, and performance.
A Day of Readings, Panels, and Workshops That Explore Theatre That Uplifts and Performs Democracy
Thursday 31 October 2024
New York City
The organizing principle of the festival is that both theatre and democracy depend on dialogue to function. This festival hopes to remind theatre practitioners and theatregoers that our participation in this medium can be foundational practice to a more robust democracy.
