New Delhi, Sept 24: The Ministry of Culture will organise the BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 in New Delhi from October 12 to 14 as part of India’s BRICS Presidency, bringing together theatre professionals and cultural representatives from nine member and partner countries.
The three-day event will be held under the theme “Shared Stories, Shared Futures” and is expected to feature more than 100 theatre practitioners, scholars, students and other cultural representatives.
Culture Ministry Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said the festival would provide a platform for cultural interaction and help strengthen people-to-people connections among participating countries through theatre.
The event follows the Bhopal Declaration, adopted during the BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting in August, which called for expanded cultural cooperation, greater exchanges between people and stronger networks among artists and cultural professionals.
India had also proposed a voluntary Artist Registry to facilitate interaction and collaboration among artists from participating countries.The festival will include representatives from India, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia, Vietnam, Iran, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia.
India will present two productions, while participating countries will showcase performances reflecting their respective languages, theatrical traditions and contemporary artistic practices.
Russia will participate through two theatre groups.The festival will open at the National School of Drama (NSD) on October 12. Performances will be staged at various venues in the national capital, including the NSD’s Abhimanch and Sammukh auditoriums, Kamani Auditorium, LTG Auditorium and Meghdoot Theatre.
Alongside theatrical performances, the programme will include workshops and discussions involving directors, artistes and production teams. Sessions will focus on subjects such as acting techniques, performance traditions, artistic approaches, stagecraft and technical aspects of theatre production.
The initiative is also in line with the BRICS Leaders’ Declaration, which recognised the importance of cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
The National School of Drama, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, will serve as the nodal agency for the festival.
The organisers said the event is intended to provide artists and audiences with opportunities to experience different theatrical traditions while encouraging greater cultural cooperation among BRICS countries.
