The World Theatre Day was established by the International Theatre Institute and UNESCO experts and it was celebrated on 27 March 1962 for the first time. Since then, the World Theatre Day is celebrated across the whole world.
For this occasion, a personality is invited to share her or his reflections on the theme of theatre and a culture of peace.
The 2026 message is written by Willem Dafoe, actor and theatre maker. It will be read in theatres, schools, libraries and cultural spaces across the world.
“As an actor and theatre maker I remain a believer in the power of theatre. In a world that seems to get more divisive, controlling and violent, our challenge as theatre makers is to avoid the corruption of theatre solely as a commercial enterprise dedicated to the entertainment by distraction or as the dry institutional preserver of traditions, but rather to foster its strength to connect peoples, communities, cultures and above all to question where we are going……
Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to imagine what we aspire to.
We are social animals and designed biologically for engagement with the world. Every sense organ is a gateway for encounter and through this meeting we achieve greater definition of who we are. Through storytelling, aesthetics, language, movement, scenography – theatre as a total art form can make us see what was, what is and what our world could be.
Entire message and biography of Willem Dafoe
