From September 3 to 12, 2026, the 21st edition of Short Theatre returns—the international festival dedicated to contemporary creation and the performing arts— 10 days of programming, 40 companies, artistic projects, and figures who blend art, critical thought, and politics, in a program featuring over 65 events that maps out contemporary artistic landscapes, spanning the Global South and East, and involving artists from Italy, Spain, France, Poland, Hungary, Algeria, Libya, Eritrea, Cameroon, Rwanda, Mexico, and China.
“A festival that permeates the entire city, traversing many of its cultural and historical sites, taking place in renovated spaces and featuring organizations that embody the authentic, grassroots essence of Rome. This year, Short Theatre features Rome’s Mattatoio—restored and reopened to the general public—the Rome Botanical Garden, the Teatro India, and the Teatro Vittoria as iconic and historic venues for the initiative, as well as MACRO – Rome’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which was also renovated and reopened to the public last December, the Cinema Troisi, the Museum of Civilizations, and numerous associations and performing arts groups, featuring approximately 40 companies and over 65 events in a hybrid program that mirrors the diversity of the venues involved.
This edition follows in the footsteps of Silvia Bottiroli, Silvia Calderoni, Ilenia Caleo, and Michele Di Stefano—curators of Short Theatre since 2025—who continue to explore the festival format by posing a crucial question: what role do festivals play today? This gives rise to an attempt to go beyond the program itself, making visible the processes that give substance to artistic “phenomena,” and embracing the risk of sharing with the audience the presence of hybrid, undefined objects. These are works that defy categorization—blending opera singing and beatboxing, poetic text and stage presence, collective walks and symbolic gestures—as well as educational formats such as CLASSE, a project for the transmission of knowledge, residencies, and explorations in dramaturgy through the CAMERA and Salon sections, a daily program of musical performances.
Short Theatre. Festival di arti performative 2026, Visita qui di sito per il calendario completo e aggiornato degli eventi
Produced with the support of the Ministry of Culture – Directorate-General for the Performing Arts, the Lazio Region – Live Performing Arts – An initiative promoted and supported by Roma Capitale – Department of Culture and Coordination of Initiatives relating to Holocaust Remembrance Day – Department of Cultural Activities, in collaboration with Zètema Progetto Cultura, and produced by the AREA06 Association –ETS, with funding from the Palaexpo Special Agency, the Mattatoio Foundation – City of the Arts, and the Teatro di Roma – National Theatre, and with the support of Creative Europe, DRIFT, the Megera APS Association, SIAE, the Swiss Institute, the Nuovi Mecenati Foundation, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Rome, the Goethe-Institut in Rome, the Spanish Embassy, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Rome, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and the Real Academia de España en Roma, in collaboration with the Romaeuropa Festival, MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, Palazzo Esposizioni Art Workshop, Rome – partner ATCL, Rome Botanical Garden Museum – Sapienza University of Rome, PAV, Teatro Vittoria, MUCIV – Museum of Civilisations, Cinema Troisi – Media Partners: Rai Radio 3, Zero Roma, Teatro&Critica, NEU Radio
images: (cover 1) Nacera Belaza, L’Echo © Simon Gosselin (2) Lemmo, credit Luca Vianello e Silvia Mangosio (3) Chiara Bersani Michel, The Animals I Am. ph Diana Tinoco (4) Adelita Husni Bey, LOCALES. Like a Flood (5) Muna Mussie, Cinema Impero. ph Pietro_Bertora (6) Cristina Kristal Rizzo, Sentimental © Anna Shvets
Dal 3 al 12 settembre 2026, in diverse sedi di Roma, torna la 21esima edizione di Short Theatre, il il festival internazionale dedicato alla creazione contemporanea e alle performing arts.
