World Theatre Day is annually observed across the globe on 27th March with an aim to promote the art forms across the world and to create awareness about the value of these art forms.
The day is annually celebrated at around 90 International Theatre Institute(ITI) centres across the globe and in the International Theatre Community.
Objective: The day aims to enable the dance and theatre communities to promote their work on a broad scale so that opinion leaders are aware of the value of these forms and support them and enjoy the art form for its own sake.
27th March 2022 marks the 60th anniversary of World Theatre Day
- The celebration of 2022 World Theatre Day focuses on the young, the next generation, the emerging artists, who have been a strong special focus of ITI in the recent past.
Background:
i.World Theatre Day was created by the International Theatre Institute(ITI), the world organisation for the performing arts.
ii.World Theatre Day was first celebrated on 27th March 1962, the opening date of the “Theatre of Nations” season in Paris, France.
iii.Since 1962 the day is annually celebrated on a global scale on 27th March.
Message for World Theatre Day 2022:
i.Annually the executive council of ITI chooses an outstanding theatre personality to write the message for World Theatre Day.
ii.The author of the 2022 message is Peter Sellars, an American theatre director who is well known for his contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas.
- French playwriter Jean Cocteau was the author of the first theatre day message(1962).
About International Theatre Institute(ITI):
ITI was created on the initiative of the first UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Director-General, Sir Julian Huxley, and the playwright and novelist, JB Priestly in 1948
President– Mohamed Saif Al-Afkham
Director-General– Tobias Biancone
Headquarters– Shanghai, China
