BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 Opens at National School of Drama

BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 commenced on 12 October at the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi. Organised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, as part of India’s BRICS Presidency 2026, the three-day festival will run until 14 October under the theme “Shared Stories, Shared Futures.”

Event Key Facts

Grand Opening Ceremony at NSD

The Ministry of Culture launched the BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 at the National School of Drama (NSD) campus on October 12, 2026. The three-day cultural extravaganza gathers artists, scholars, and performers across nine member and partner nations under the theme ‘Shared Stories, Shared Futures’.

Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat inaugurated the festival as Chief Guest.

Performances and Venues

The inaugural day featured a performance of Samudra Manthan, written by Asif Ali. NSD Director Chittaranjan Tripathy designed, directed, and composed the musical score for the production. The cast staged the play at the Abhimanch Auditorium on the NSD premises.

Over the three-day festival, ten theatre troupes present eleven plays across major venues in New Delhi:

• NSD Auditoriums: Abhimanch Auditorium and Sammukh Auditorium
• City Auditoriums: Kamani Auditorium, LTG Auditorium, Shri Ram Centre, and Meghdoot Theatre

India presents two stage productions, while Russia sends two theatre groups. Troupes from Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, Vietnam, South Africa, Kazakhstan, and Ethiopia display classical, contemporary, and experimental performance traditions. 

Morning Workshops and Collaborative Exchange

Each morning, directors, cast members, and production teams participate in interactive workshops and roundtable discussions. These sessions explore artistic vision, acting methodologies, lighting techniques, and stagecraft. Through these exchanges, practitioners establish professional networks and plan future joint cross-border productions.

Strategic Significance for India's BRICS Presidency

The festival aligns directly with India’s 2026 BRICS Presidency theme, ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’. The Culture Track promotes multilateral cooperation within creative industries, protects tangible and intangible heritage, and fosters direct people-to-people connections. As the nodal agency, NSD strengthens cultural ties across the Global South and partner countries.