The Shakespeare Festival in Craiova
The Craiova International Shakespeare Festival 2026 is drawing to a close.
Daniela Budu, 29.05.2026, 13:50
In southern Romania, the Craiova International Shakespeare Festival 2026 continues, considered one of the most important theatrical events in the world. Organized by the ‘Marin Sorescu’ National Theatre and the Shakespeare Foundation, the festival runs until May 31 in Craiova and its surroundings, featuring over 450 events across roughly 60 venues, bringing together artists, theater companies, directors, and creators from all over the globe. The events are taking place both at the National Theatre and in public squares, neighborhoods, open-air venues, and localities within the metropolitan area. Critics and audiences alike praise its scale, the diversity of the productions, and its capacity to transform the city into a giant stage.
The festival kicked off on May 21 in Craiova with events dedicated to Japan, offering the most extensive program in the festival’s history, with theater plays, concerts, exhibitions, workshops, conferences, film screenings, dance, contemporary circus, and urban performances. Organizers believe that the theme of the 2026 edition, ‘WILL matters / Voința naște materie’, develops the festival as an urban and community experience, expanding Craiova’s cultural map and bringing the performing arts closer to the general public. According to them, the 2026 edition brought to the forefront the Shakespeare Squares and Shakespeare Metropolitan sections, through which performances step out of traditional halls and reach squares, neighborhoods, metropolitan localities, and unconventional spaces, with free admission for the public.
The lineup includes international theater productions, traveling installations, music, and interactive shows presented by artists and companies from Austria, Great Britain, Italy, and Argentina. Among the scheduled events were ‘The Dance of the Flying Fire’ and ‘Circurios’ by Austria’s Flare Performance company, ‘Out of the Deep Blue’ by the British troupe Autin Dance Theatre, and ‘Ganda – The Rhinoceros’, a street show produced by Teatro delle Isole from Italy.
Productions inspired by the works of William Shakespeare and directed by Anca Sigartău were also presented, including ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, and ‘The Merchant of Venice’. Still open for visits during the festival is the multimedia installation ‘Shakespeare Dimensions’, inspired by the play ‘The Tempest’, as well as the “Shakespeare Teen” installation, created with the participation of over 1,000 students from 52 schools and high schools across Dolj County.
The President of the Craiova International Shakespeare Festival 2026, Vlad Drăgulescu, noted that from 1994 to the present, “the festival has grown, invading hall after hall and, at this moment, it is invading the entire city.” For the Ambassador of Japan to Romania, Takashi Katae, the Shakespeare Festival ‘remains one of the most important global crossroads for Shakespearean art, encompassing not just theater, but also dance, physical performance, and music.’ The Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Romania, Giles Portman, spoke in highly superlative terms about the festival as well. “When I visited it two years ago, I was absolutely surprised by the scale of the festival. I had no idea it was so vast, so international, combining highly professional productions in the main theater with street performances and, of course, the Shakespeare village in the Craiova park. It was a wonderful surprise for me”. (VP)
