The International Online Theatre Festival showcases a range of work from global artists and companies, as well as renowned filmmakers who have turned to theatre as a mode through which to explore process, craftsmanship, and performativity. In the span of one month, IOTF presents works by international theatre artists and companies from around the world, serving as a platform for encounters between international theatre and audiences. IOTF is free to participate and free to watch, aiming to create an online space that blurs geographical boundaries and brings us together as a community. IOFT is underpinned by TheTheatreTimes.com’s aims to decolonize theatre criticism and provide more accessible modes for theatre encounters.

IOFT also gives opportunities for close meetings between artists, spectators, and scholars through its online discussion panels and through the theme of the festival that every year responds to an urgent social issue. In 2019, the focus was on transformation and resistance. In 2020 and 2021, the themes were contextualized by the global COVID-19 pandemic. IOTF 2020, which launched during the lockdowns served as a global space for isolated theatre community, streaming shows from many countries and regions.  IOFT 2021 spotlighted works made and/or captured during the lockdown as artists, theatres, and audiences adapted to the challenges of making work during the pandemic. The 2023 theme, Theatre and Its Others, honoured the human, animal, and machine interdependencies of theatre practices and tested cultural, social, political, and economic acts of “Othering.”

IOFT 2023 presented 39 shows from 23 countries, across all six continents; IOTF 2021 showcased 33 shows from 24 countries; IOTF 2020 featured 42 shows from 16 countries; and IOTF 2019 featured 26 shows from 10 countries.  From 2019 to 2023, in all four editions, IOTF showcased 140 shows from 30 countries, with over a million people participating in the four editions.

We also have been collaborating with partners such as the European Theatre Convention, Digital Theatre+, Ninateka, Polish Cultural Institute in London, Between.Pomiędzy Foundation, Schaubühne Berlin, and metaLAB (at) Harvard, ensuring the engagement of new artists and audiences. Following TheTheatreTimes.com’s pluralistic approach to cultural sharing, the IOTF repertoire is always led by its local, regional editors, native language speakers, and cultural insiders. This way, we ensure that the IOFT reflects the diversity of voices in contemporary global theatre. Our audiences continue to grow. They include seasoned theatre-goers but also new users, who have never before attended a live theatre show. IOTF has reached many corners of the world, and we often receive words of gratitude from viewers who would not be able to see the wealth of cultural output we provide if it were not freely available on the internet.

TheTheatreTimes.com is an all-volunteer open-access global theatre and performing arts portal. Since its launch in November 2016, TheTheatreTimes.com has published over 5,000 articles and theatre reviews covering theatre in 90 countries and regions. With 32 thematic sections, more than 150 Regional Managing Editors, we have grown to be the most far-reaching and comprehensive global theatre portal today.