Under the theme WILL matters, the 15th edition reached over 260,000 attendees and brought together artists, audiences, communities, partners, and institutions from over 70 countries. The programme included more than 500 performances and events, featuring over 3,000 performers, in approximately 40 languages, and held in over 60 indoor and outdoor venues. Shakespeare Village was one of the highlights of the festival, attracting over 70,000 spectators with a programme that combined an Elizabethan atmosphere, family activities, and evening concerts. The largest edition in the festival’s history combined performance venues with the city’s squares, neighborhoods, and the metropolitan area, it brought together loyal audiences with new ones, and major names on the international scene with emerging artists. The programme included theatre and dance performances, concerts, interventions in public spaces, immersive installations, exhibitions, conferences, film projections, workshops, and participatory projects. 
Shakespeare Core brought productions from around the world to Craiova, reaffirming the dialogue between the Shakespearean tradition and the new languages of the contemporary stage. Among the highlights of this edition were performances directed or presented by artists and companies such as Declan Donnellan, Sir Gregory Doran, Irina Brook, Ryunosuke Kimura, Silviu Purcărete, Saburo Teshigawara, Lisa Wolpe, The Tiger Lillies, Guy Roberts, Sewan Latchinian, Itay Tiran, Walter Matteini, Ina Broeckx and Michela Lucenti. A defining moment of this year’s edition was the presentation of the International Shakespeare Award to British director Sir Gregory Doran, former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His visit to Craiova, his meeting with the audience, and the performance of “Venus & Adonis by William Shakespeare”, created in collaboration with Simon Russell Beale, winner of a Tony Award and three Laurence Olivier Awards, offered the festival a memorable ending. 
Academics & More strengthened the dimension of ideas through conferences, book launches, workshops, live podcasts, and gatherings at the intersection of research, critique, and artistic practice. The program brought together leading figures such as H.E. Simona Miculescu – Romania’s Ambassador to UNESCO, visual artist Mircea Cantor, Michael Dobson – Director of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, Professor Octavian Saiu – President of the International Association of Theatre Leaders (IATL), experimental arts pioneer Danny Yung, theatre critic Marina Constantinescu, and theatre scholar Cristina Modreanu. In keeping with tradition, the European Shakespeare Research Association (ESRA) organised a series of events dedicated to the work of the great playwright and, for the first time, developed the Shakespeare’s Apprentice platform, a space where contemporary dramaturgy intersects with Shakespeare. New texts from Ukraine, Poland, and Romania were presented as staged readings, and the play voted on by the audience will be produced at the 2028 edition. The partnership with ESRA also included post-show talks, which provided audiences and professionals with a framework for analyzing productions featured in the programme. The World Congress of the International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT/IATC), returning to Romania after more than two decades, took place in Craiova under the theme “Is Shakespeare Still Our Contemporary? Rethinking the Bard in a World He Never Imagined.” During the congress, the Thalia Award 2026, the AICT’s distinction for exceptional contributions to international theatre criticism and research, was presented to Professor Emerita Maria Shevtsova (Goldsmiths – University of London). 
Shakespeare Squares transformed Craiova’s squares into open-air stages, featuring free shows and performances, while Shakespeare Metropolitan brought the festival to neighborhoods and communes around the city. In this way, art reached spaces that people know and pass through every day, transforming them into gathering places and cultural experiences. 
Shakespeare Village remained one of the venues with the most vibrant energy. For over 70,000 spectators, the Elizabethan village served as a meeting point between daytime performances, workshops, artisans, and children’s activities, and the energy of the evening concerts. The Village was one of the main gateways to the festival for a diverse audience, especially for those who were discovering Shakespeare for the first time in a more relaxed and accessible setting. A key focus of this edition was attracting young people and building a natural connection with theatre from an early age. Shakespeare Kids offered performances and activities dedicated to children and families across all sections. For teenagers, Shakespeare Teen brought a multimedia installation to the city centre, created with the participation of over 1,200 students from 52 elementary and high schools across Dolj County. The project demonstrated how Shakespeare can serve as a tool for visual expression, collaboration, and cultural education, using a language that resonates with younger generations. 
Erasmus+ Shakespeare expanded the festival ahead of its official opening through a mobility and creation programme that brought over 160 international students to Craiova. Involved in collaborative projects developed in partnership with the University of Craiova, they contributed through performances, projects, and artistic engagements that connected the city to a young international network. At the same time, Shakespeare University created a platform for students at theatre universities in Romania and abroad, connecting their artistic journeys to a professional and international context. 
Shakespeare Innovations showcased “Shakespeare Dimensions – Episode 2” at Promenada Mall Craiova, part of the NEPI Rockcastle portfolio. The immersive installation, inspired by “The Tempest”, combined video and sound design, visual art, and audience interaction. At the same time, Promenada Mall Craiova became a key stop on the festival route and hosted over 30 free performances and events. Shakespeare Visual, Shakespeare Movies, and Shakespeare Seniors rounded out the festival’s program by offering various ways to engage with the world of Shakespeare, ranging from exhibitions and film projections to installations and intergenerational programs. 
“For us, the 2026 edition was about how a festival can energize an entire city. WILL matters was the guiding principle behind this edition: the determination to open ourselves up to more communities, to bring Shakespeare closer to a new audience, and to make Craiova a place where culture is experienced simultaneously in many different forms. I would like to thank the artists, the team, the volunteers, our partners and our audiences. Without this shared energy, a festival of this magnitude could not exist. Craiova has shown, once again, that it has the strength to be one of the world’s great cultural stages.” said Vlad Drăgulescu, President of the Craiova International Shakespeare Festival. For more information, visit: www.craiovainternational.com. Follow us on: Facebook / YouTube / TikTok @shakespearefestivalcraiova and Instagram @shakespearefestival. Organisers: Shakespeare Foundation, Marin Sorescu National Theatre Craiova Financed by: Craiova City Hall, Ministry of Culture, Dolj County Council Main Partners: NEPI Rockcastle, Promenada Mall Craiova Main Sponsors: CEC BANK, Garanti BBVA, UniCredit Bank, STAMFORD AvK Energy Partner: PPC Sponsors: Aqua Carpatica, Drinks&More, Banca Transilvania, BCR, Popeci Auto, Supermedical, Exim Banca Românească, Inspire Cinema, SyncRO Soft, Orange, Beefeater, Rovere Mobili, Elpreco Partners: Romanian Cultural Institute, British Council, University of Craiova, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education and Research, National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale”, Ramada Plaza Craiova, Rotary Club Craiova Probitas, InLan Dimensions, Expo’70 Fund, RAT Craiova, Eco Urbis Craiova, “Angela Hondru” Romanian-Japanese Studies Centre, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova Media Partners: Voyo, Kiss FM & Magic FM & Rock FM, Radio România, Radio România Oltenia, Cărturești Bookshops, Agerpres, Libertatea, news.ro, A’ List Magazine, urban.ro, Gen, Adevărul, Zile și nopți, Vorbitorincii, Itsy Bitsy, Observator Cultural, Klarmedia, Cineplexx, Phoenix Media, New Age Advertising Agency — Initiated in 1994 by the visionary Emil Boroghină, the Craiova International Shakespeare Festival is the world’s most important thematic festival of its kind. Over the years, it has brought to Craiova Shakespearean creations signed by Peter Brook, Robert Wilson, Robert Lepage, Eugenio Barba, Thomas Ostermeier and Yukio Ninagawa, along with companies from over 70 countries, helping establish the city as a global meeting point for renowned theatrical aesthetics and practices. 
