With a focus on performing arts with non-European and Eastern European perspectives, the first edition of REACT – Riksteatern’s international festival will take place in April and May 2026.

As a touring festival, REACT brings the world’s stages to you, and sheds light on the present from a larger perspective. No matter where you meet the festival, you will have the chance to see productions that otherwise rarely reach Sweden. Works that challenge, surprise and stretch what performing arts can be. 

The festival will be inaugurated at Riksteatern in Hallunda and Stockholm on April 23, 2026 and then tour on to Gothenburg, Skellefteå and Norrköping.

Among the highlights of the first edition of REACT is ECHO, a collaboration between Riksteatern and the British Royal Court Theatre, created by the acclaimed Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour. Through ECHO, Soleimanpour invites you to a journey through time that opens up the possibility of connecting with all the people who have gone before us. As in his previous works, the starting point is that a new person is on stage each performance, who cannot participate in the performance a second time. Directed by Omar Elerian.

REACT also presents the Polish director, Marta Górnicka, choral work MOTHERS A SONG FOR WARTIME, which has been unanimously praised by audiences and critics in Europe. The performance brings together 21 women from Ukraine, Poland and Belarus in a strong work about the reality of war and the power of hope.

– The main vision of REACT is that international performing arts of the highest quality will reach audiences all over Sweden. Riksteatern's collaboration with several county and city theaters, our own local and regional theatre associations and other cultural actors together with international actors is what makes REACT possible, says Dritëro Kasapi, theater director and artistic director at Riksteatern.

Through REACT, audiences in Sweden also get the opportunity to experience the South African-Danish success DARK NOON, which turns the Wild West myth inside out. Director Tue Biering and choreographer Nhlanhla Mahlangu delve into a time when 35 million hungry and poor Europeans fled across the Atlantic in search of a second chance. This is the untamed and lawless story of Western civilization told by a group of South African actors.

The program also includes Funny and Fearless – Muslim Women Stand-Up, a stand-up show with female comedians from the USA and the UK, as well as Ukraine Artistic Meetings – conversations and drama that give voice to Ukrainian artists.

By hosting REACT in central locations in southern, northern and central Sweden, it creates opportunities for more people in different parts of the country to experience the performances. The cities that REACT will visit in 2026 are Skellefteå, Norrköping, Gothenburg and Stockholm. Each city will be able to make its own unique mark by adding local acts and artistic conversations that complement the program. 

– REACT comes at a time when we really need international artistic exchange. Democracy weakens when we stop listening to voices other than our own. Through REACT, Riksteatern wants to create unexpected encounters and perspectives through the performing arts that challenge us all. Art and society depend on constant oxygenation, in this way we stay rich in ideas, innovations, empathy, trust, doubt and understanding, says Dritëro Kasapi.

International guest performances 2026

MOTHERS A SONG FOR WARTIME

MOTHERS A SONG FOR WARTIME, is a choral work created by director Marta Górnicka together with 21 Ukrainian, Polish and Belarusian mothers and their children. A collective feat of strength about everyday life, care and resistance based on personal experiences. A guest performance from: CHORUS OF WOMEN FOUNDATION, Warsaw, Maxim Gorki Theater, Berlin. With support from the Polish Institute in Stockholm, Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

ECHO

ECHO, a nerve-wracking theatre experiment that breaks time, space and language barriers. Created by playwright Nassim Soleimanpour and director Omar Elerian, the duo behind the international successes White Rabbit, Red Rabbit and NASSIM. The performance is produced by Nassim Soleimanpour Production in collaboration with Riksteatern, LIFT (London) / The Royal Court Theatre (London), Staatstheater Mainz and Why Not Theatre (Toronto), Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles (Brussels) / Le Lieu Unique (Nantes), Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Canberra Theatre Centre / Malthouse Theatre (Melbourne) and The Shed (New York City).

DARK NOON

DARK NOON, an acclaimed theatre production that with extra energy twists and turns our perceptions of Western historiography, with both sharpness and humor. Directed by TueBiering and choreographed by Nhlanhla Mahlangu. A co-production with the South African artistic team and the Danish Revolver at Teater Republique. With support from the Danish Arts Foundation, Bikuben Foundation and Beckett-Foundation.

Funny and Fearless – Muslim Women Stand-Up

Funny and Fearless – Muslim Women Stand-Up, brings together some of the sharpest female voices in international stand-up in a performance that is as cheeky as it is liberating. Under the confident and quick-witted direction of Swedish actor and comedian Nisti Sterk, the show offers personal stories, political edge and humor with heart. Riksteatern in collaboration with Sterk produktion AB

Ukraine Artistic Meetings

Ukraine Artistic Meetings, promotes new Ukrainian drama through stage readings, conversations and meetings. The audience gets to take part in drama that documents and processes the reality of the war

The festival is a collaboration between Riksteatern, Göteborgs Stadsteater, Västerbottensteatern, Östgötateaternand and Riksteatern’s regional and local associations.