Kielce: 8th International Theatre Festival ends, with productions from several countries

The 8th Kielce International Theatre Festival has come to an end. According to Onet Kultura, the event drew thousands of viewers from across Poland, as well as from abroad. The portal describes it as a festival that has spent several years trying to carve out a place between the Warsaw Theatre Meetings and Kraków's Boska Komedia.

The programme

The festival ran from 11 to 25 October 2026. According to a preview from Polish Radio Three, based on a press release, it was organised by the Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Kielce. The programme consisted of major premieres from recent seasons in Poland, Greece, Lithuania and Spain.

The organisers said the selected productions were meant to reflect contemporary Europe. Themes named included community, exclusion, memory and technology.

Among the highlights was "Goodbye, Lindita", a production without words. It was directed by Mario Banushi, winner of a Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale.

The Kielce stage also hosted companies from the National Stary Theatre in Kraków, the National Theatre in Athens and the National Drama Theatre in Kaunas. The Spanish group Iron Skulls Co also performed.

Readings and debates

Performative readings were part of the festival. Among them was announced the project "WAJDA based on Notebooks 1942–2016", directed by Łukasz Kos. It forms part of the celebrations of a year dedicated to Andrzej Wajda, an outstanding Polish artist. The programme also included meetings with artists and debates on important phenomena in Polish culture.

What this means for you

The festival took place in Poland, so this is mainly a story about the country's cultural life. Anyone interested in theatre can find detailed information about the event at teatrzeromskiego.pl.