Pakistani Playwright Shahid Nadeem Delivers International World Theatre Day Message 2020

The Global Theater Initiative (GTI), a partnership between Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and The Laboratory for Performance and Politics (The Lab) at Georgetown University, is inviting all theatres, individual artists, institutions, and audiences to celebrate the 59th annual World Theatre Day on March 27, 2020. Each year, a renowned theatre artist of world stature is invited by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) Worldwide in Shanghai to craft an international message to mark the global occasion. This year the message has been written by Pakistani playwright Shahid Nadeem. The message has been translated into multiple languages. Read all the World Theatre Day Messages here.

"In a time of rising Islamophobia, Shahid Nadeem's message reminds us of the sacred humanizing role that theatre can and must play," said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. "We hope this message serves as inspiration to all culture-makers working across borders."

Since 1962, World Theatre Day has been celebrated by the circulation of the World Theatre Day Message. The first World Theatre Day international message was written by Jean Cocteau. Succeeding honorees have included Arthur Miller (1963), Ellen Stewart (1975), Vaclav Havel (1994), Ariane Mnouchkine (2005), Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi (2007), Augusto Boal (2009), Dame Judi Dench (2010), Jessica A. Kaahwa (2011) and Anatoli Vassiliev (2017). In 2019, the International World Theatre Message was given by Carlos Celdrán, and the U.S. World Theatre Message by Larissa Fasthorse, Ty Defoe, and Jenny Marlowe of Indigenous Direction. TCG and GTI will announce the U.S. World Theatre Day Message soon.

To celebrate World Theatre Day 2020, GTI recommends sharing the international and U.S. messages on or around March 27 through program notes, curtain speeches and online media; tweet about World Theatre Day using the hashtag #WorldTheatreDay; following TCG, The Lab, and ITI on social media platforms for updates and sharing World Theatre Day-related posts; and posting your own message to your network about World Theatre Day, championing the power of theatre to strengthen cultural exchange and mutual understanding across borders.

TCG and GTI also urge you to take action by signing up to receive TCG Action Alerts and contacting your elected officials regarding the need for improved visa processing for international guest artists (Issue Brief) and increased funding for the Cultural Programs Division of the State Department (Issue Brief); host a roundtable with your community to discuss the themes related to World Theatre Day; offer ticket discounts in celebration of the day; or make your backstage space available for audiences to tour.

Learn more about World Theatre Day and GTI's international programming here.