SID 2026 Leuven / june 9-13
Shakespeare is Dead is the largest Dutch-language festival dedicated to playwriting. It takes place alternately in Leuven and Amsterdam. The festival aims to spotlight the contemporary Dutch-language playwright for both their own Dutch-speaking audience and an international context, and to serve as a meeting place for discovering work from other languages and cultures.
What to expect at the third Leuven edition:
· The Reading Room presents contemporary Dutch-language texts to an international audience through staged readings.
· In the evenings, we present six brand-new productions from across Europe, featuring texts written within the framework of the project Future Narratives for Planet Earth.
· In debates and roundtable conversations, we explore which new stories are being told in theatre today and what challenges the art of playwriting currently faces.
· Playwrights are offered feedback sessions on recent work, which can also be tested during late-night scratch nights.
· Enthusiasts and aficionados can get hands-on with contemporary theatre texts through a wide range of courses and workshops.
· During the festival, theatre-text professionals from Flanders, the Netherlands, and beyond meet each other at both formal and informal networking moments. A must for anyone working with theatre texts.
Shakespeare is Dead is organised by Het nieuwstedelijk, in co-production with fABULEUS, WiSPER, Het Kwartier, De Leesclub, OPENDOEK, cie Tartaren, LUCA Drama, Theater Bellevue, De Brakke Grond, KU Leuven, and 30CC, with the support of OPEK, Literatuur Vlaanderen, Kunstenpunt, Fonds Podiumkunsten, the City of Leuven, SABAM, DeAuteurs, and deBuren.
