President of the 2026 International Shakespeare Festival in Craiova, Vlad Dragulescu, announced on Thursday that this year's edition, running May 21 - 31, will feature nearly 500 events spanning theatre, visual arts, film, music, opera, dance and literature.

'Last edition, leading experts called our festival the largest Shakespeare festival in the world. This year we've prepared almost 500 events across 11 days and more than 60 venues. (...) From May 21 to 31, the world moves to Craiova,' Dragulescu said. He added that theatre and the arts mean 'having the courage to dream like a child and to keep going until the dream is fulfilled', inviting audiences to Craiova 'to talk about dreams and find the courage to pursue them'.

He noted that since 1994, when actor, director and theatre manager Emil Boroghina founded the festival, it has 'grown from hall to hall and now takes over the entire city'.

The program covers all age groups - from toddlers to seniors - with organisers also bringing performances to nine elderly care homes. Beyond theatres, squares and the Shakespeare Village, the festival will reach nine neighboring communes, staging shows for local communities.

'Communities build this festival', Dragulescu stressed, adding that spectators are 'more than an audience - they are founders of each edition'. When people travel to Craiova to see three different Romeo and Juliet productions - 'one from Argentina, one from Colombia, one from the UK or Japan' - they show the curiosity the festival seeks to encourage, he said.

Roxana Baias, Group Head of Marketing at NEPI Rockcastle, the festival's main partner, said there will be 30 performances across the 11 days of the event.

'We will have the second version of Shakespeare Dimensions, this immersive installation which, if in 2024 covered 10 square metres, will now span 200 square metres of immersive, kinetic space where people can interact with Shakespeare's characters. We will also have a show I would save for last, because it is a national, maybe even international premiere, inspired by 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. And also inspired by 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', for the first time this year we are supporting Shakespeare Teens, a multimedia installation in central Craiova, built by more than a thousand students (...) who played with video, textures and architecture,' she said.

A film based on this project will be screened at Cineplex Craiova, at Promenada Craiova, during the festival.

'The last surprise, which made me very, very curious: between May 29 and 31, the Comic Opera for Children in Bucharest will create a unique production for babies and toddlers aged 0 to 3-year-olds. Parents, together with their babies, will be inspired by Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream',' Baias added.

Japan's ambassador to Romania, Takashi Katae, said the Shakespeare Festival 'remains one of the most important global crossroads for Shakespearean art, encompassing not only theatre but also dance, physical performance and music'.

Craiova is where East and West meet, and Shakespeare's universality becomes tangible. The Japanese Shakespearean stage has strong ties with this festival. Many Japanese theatre companies have taken part over the years. For almost two decades, Japanese participation here has been constant and diverse, from classical Noh and contemporary theatre to dance and poetry, he said, noting that four Japanese groups will perform theatre, dance and music this year.

The UK ambassador to Romania, Giles Portman, praised the event, saying that when he visited two years ago, he 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 theatre with street performances and, of course, the Shakespeare village in the park. It was a big surprise for me. I look forward to returning this year to see some British productions and well-known British theatre figures taking part. Shakespeare said that all the world's a stage, but in May the stage will be in Craiova. See you in Craiova and good luck, the British diplomat said.

The event opened with a performance by international students from more than 30 countries, part of the festival's Erasmus+ Shakespeare section.

Culture Minister Demeter Andras sent a greeting message, calling the festival 'a banquet of the spirit' and wishing 'that everything it planned in its dreams may be fulfilled, and its boat sail with a stronger wind'.

***

According to the organizers, the 2026 International Shakespeare Festival brings the most ambitious programme in its three-decade history, with 450 performances and events spread across more than 60 venues in Craiova and the metropolitan area. Audiences will encounter Shakespeare's work in theatres, unconventional spaces, squares, parks and on the streets, through theatre and dance productions, concerts, exhibitions, interactive installations, workshops, conferences, book launches and film screenings.

This year's theme, 'WILL matters', invites reflection on willpower as a creative engine. Productions inspired by Shakespeare and created by artists from over 70 countries will arrive in Craiova, including major titles hosted by the 'Marin Sorescu' National Theatre such as 'Titus Andronicus: Reborn' by Ryunosuke Kimura, Silviu Purcarete's new 'King Lear', and 'The Tiger Lillies in a Macbeth Song'.

International names return as well: director Declan Donnellan with 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona', Lisa Wolpe with her one-woman show 'The Alchemy of Gender Archives', and Gregory Doran with 'Venus & Adonis', in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Contemporary reinterpretations feature in the Shakespeare Of(f) Avignon section, while other stages across the city will host works such as Irina Brook's 'Lear?', La Fille Du Laitier's 'Mute Macbeth', and Catinca Draganescu's 'Macbeth.0'.

Dance also plays a central role, with productions including 'Hamlet' by imPerfect Dancers, 'Ophelia-s' by Mossoux-Bonté and 'Hamlet Puppet' by Balletto Civile.

A focal point remains Shakespeare Village, the Elizabethan-inspired hub that drew more than 50,000 visitors last year, offering daytime activities for all ages and evening concerts by artists such as Suie Paparude, Zdob si Zdub, Bosquito, Coma, The Mono Jacks, Sarmalele Reci, Omul cu Sobolani, Luna Amara and Mihail.

Access is via Day Pass, Multi-Day Pass or Full Pass, with free entry on May 21.

Alongside the main program, hundreds of free events will unfold under the Shakespeare Squares, Shakespeare Metropolitan and Academics & More sections, aimed at the general public, students and young audiences.

Founded in 1994 by Emil Boroghina, the festival has become the world's leading Shakespeare-themed event, hosting landmark productions by Peter Brook, Robert Wilson, Robert Lepage, Eugenio Barba, Thomas Ostermeier, Yukio Ninagawa and companies from more than 70 countries. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Popescu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)