BRICS Theatre Festival to highlight diverse traditions
The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, will organise the BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 from October 12 to 14 in New Delhi under India’s BRICS Presidency 2026. The three-day festival, themed “Shared Stories, Shared Futures”, will bring together over 100 theatre practitioners, scholars, students and cultural representatives from nine BRICS Member and Partner Countries.
Briefing the media on the festival, Shri Vivek Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, highlighted its significance as an important cultural engagement under India’s BRICS Presidency and its role in advancing people-to-people connections through theatre.
The festival builds on the Bhopal Declaration adopted at the BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting in August 2026, which emphasised greater cultural cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and stronger networks among artists and cultural practitioners. India had also proposed a voluntary Artist Registry to facilitate such exchanges.
The significance of the festival has also been recognised in the BRICS Leaders’ Declaration, which welcomed the Bhopal Declaration and noted initiatives aimed at strengthening cultural cooperation, cultural exchanges and people-to-people ties.
The festival will feature participation from India, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia, Vietnam, Iran, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia. India will showcase two theatre productions, while participating countries will present productions reflecting their diverse languages, theatrical traditions and contemporary creative expressions. Two theatre groups will represent Russia.
The festival will be inaugurated at the National School of Drama on October 12. Performances will be staged at prominent theatre venues in New Delhi, including the National School of Drama and its Abhimanch Auditorium and Sammukh Auditorium, as well as Kamani Auditorium, LTG Auditorium, and Meghdoot Theatre.
The festival will showcase classical, contemporary and experimental forms of theatre. Interactive workshops and discussions involving directors, artistes, and production teams will provide opportunities to exchange ideas on artistic vision, performance traditions, acting methodologies, stagecraft, and technical design.
The National School of Drama, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, will serve as the nodal agency for organising the festival.
