World Theatre Day is celebrated annually on 27 March, originating from the 1961 initiative of the International Theatre Institute ITI. To mark this special moment, ITI Centres and the international theatre community organise various national and international events, one of the most important of which is the broadcast of the World Theatre Day Message, through which, at the invitation of ITI, a figure of global standing shares their reflections on the theme of Theatre and the Culture of Peace. The first World Theatre Day Message was written by Jean Cocteau in 1962.
This year’s author of the International Message for World Theatre Day is the actor Willem Dafoe, current Artistic Director of the Theatre Department at La Biennale di Venezia, one of the founding members of the legendary troupe The Wooster Group. Active at The Performing Garage in New York between 1977 and 2004, they laid the foundations of a revolutionary approach in avant-garde theatre. His theatrical career continued through reference collaborations with visionaries such as Bob Wilson, Marina Abramović, Richard Foreman, and Romeo Castellucci. In the early 1980s, Willem Dafoe made his cinematic debut, quickly becoming an internationally acclaimed figure for his remarkable versatility, moving easily between independent productions and commercial successes. His performances have earned him four Academy Award nominations and the prestigious Coppa Volpi trophy for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival in 2018.
True theatre challenges the way we think and encourages us to imagine the things we aspire to. We are social animals, biologically designed to interact with the world. Each sense is a gateway to an encounter, and through this encounter we define ourselves more clearly. Through story, aesthetics, language, movement, and scenography – theatre, as a total art form, can make us see what has been, what is, and, above all, what our world could become.
The full text is available at the following link: https://www.uniter.ro/mesajul-international-pentru-ziua-mondiala-a-teatrului-2026-27-martie/?lang=ro
On the occasion of World Theatre Day, on Friday, 27 March, from 6:30 PM, the “Toma Caragiu” Theatre has scheduled a performance of Sub apă, by Ionuț Vișan, directed by Andi Vasluianu. The performance is part of the programme of the 22nd edition of the National “Artiștii pentru artiști” (Artists for Artists) Campaign, organised by the Romanian Theatre Union, an event that has become a symbol of solidarity in the Romanian theatrical community and that marks the month of March as a time of authentic human connection between those who give life to this performing art.
Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office of the “Toma Caragiu” Theatre Ploiești, telephone 0244.522.774, or online by accessing the Performance Schedule section on the website www.teatruploiesti.ro.
Theatre is more than an art form; it is a space of encounter between stories and people, between reality and dream, between actor and audience, and on the occasion of World Theatre Day we celebrate the extraordinary power of this art to bring us together, to inspire us, and to remind us how important shared joy is.