Venues and companies across the world will celebrate World Theatre Day (WTD) on 27 March.
Notable events are a 24-hour non-stop theatre performance in Surat, India; a screening of the documentary film Oedipus at Epidaurus in Vladimir, Russia; a conference in Nairobi, Kenya, that will examine the future of theatre in the national school curriculum; and a festival of one-act plays at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in Washington DC, US.
As well as the celebrations, each year a leading figure from the theatre world offers a ‘World Theatre Day Message’. This year’s message was written by Mexican writer Sabina Berman.
Using the metaphor of an ancient tribe brought together by its ability to imitate the world around them, she wrote: “Today, in all the theatres of the world we celebrate that glorious human skill of performance. Of representing and thus, capturing our past —and of inventing possible futures, that can bring to the tribe more freedom and happiness.”
She concluded: “Long live the theatre. The most ancient art. The art of being in the present. The most wondrous art. Long live the theatre.”
Founded in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute, WTD has five goals: To promote theatre in all its forms across the world; to make people aware of the value of theatre in all its forms; to enable theatre communities to promote their work on a broad scale; to enjoy theatre in all its forms for its own sake; and to share the joy for theatre with others.