European Theatre Talks 2026 at Festival d'Avignon
Organised in collaboration with the EU-funded cooperation project DoSeL with the APFC delegates, the programme of this year’s edition highlights the importance of multilingualism and international cooperation as central values for the future of performing arts and contributes to current European discussions around the future Culture Compass.
On 09 July ETC held the 2026 edition of its renowned European Theatre Talks event at the Fesival d’Avignon.
The session kicked off with the addresses from Georg Häusler (Director for Culture, Creativity and Sport in the European Commission) and ETC President Cláudia Belchior, highlighting the importance of multilingualism, international cultural cooperation and exchange between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
From there, Kyu Choi (Artistic Director Seoul Performing Arts Festival, South Korea) and Rok Bozovičar (General Manager of Prešernovo Gledališče Kranj, Slovenia), delivered keynotes on ‘Theatre Beyond Borders: Why International Cultural Networks Matter’. They reflected on:
- What can European and Korean theatre scenes learn from each other?
- How does language shape artistic collaboration?
This then developed into a panel discussion with Kyug Sung LEE (Director, Creative VaQi), Chou Tung-yen (Artist) and Georg Häusler, on linguistic diversity as an artistic practice and cultural right.
The event continued with the APFC Exchange Segment: Building Sustainable Networks between Europe and Asia-Pacific, with Joyce Chiou (General and Artistic Director, National Theater and Concert Hall), Anna Reece (Artistic Director of Perth Festival), and Heidi Wiley (European Theatre Convention), for a forward-looking conversation on future collaboration models.
The closing conversation brought all the speakers , back to the stage, including representatives fro ETC and the DoSEL project, to ask:
- What should future Asia-Pacific/Europe collaboration look like?
- What structural changes are still needed?
- How can institutions better support multilingual artistic work?
- What role should festivals and networks play politically?
- How theatre can continue acting as a space for democratic dialogue, intercultural understanding and cultural diplomacy in an increasingly polarised world.
Photos: Pascal Gely
In a final address, Georg Häusler shared reflections on future priorities for multilingual artistic collaboration and international mobility, and invited the theatre sector to contribute to ongoing European discussions on the European Culture Compass.
Listen to the full event recording:
Photos: Pascal Gely
What did we learn?
Many speakers stressed the importance of building on the strong connections already established between the Asia-Pacific and Europe, and the need for dedicated support to continue this vital work and overcome geographic imbalances.
Summarising the event, Heidi Wiley, ETC Executive Director, said: "My hope is that Europe and the Asia-Pacific region go beyond exchanges and continue to build relationships. Because it is relationships that will enable our theatres—and our societies—to remain open, creative and connected for decades to come."