World Theatre Day March 27: an opportunity for a cultural opening plan

I want to know when to play! On the occasion of World Theatre Day, which falls annually on March 27, the Czech ITI Center publishes the message this year expressed by British actress Helen Mirren and supplements it with a strong appeal. Along with the coming spring and on the occasion of World Theatre Day, we call for the creation of a clear plan for the gradual opening of cultural sectors. The pandemic period must not paralyze our ability to look to the future and seek perspectives. In the words of Helen Mirren: "The beautiful culture of theatre will not disappear as long as we are alive".

Theatre and art are an essential part of the regeneration of society. As long as there is no healthy culture, there will be no healthy society. We ask for the creation of a clear plan that will help start a creative dialogue that will return words like joy, beauty, fantasy to our lives. We also ask for the creation of a plan for theatre and dance education so that students do not have to live in fear of their professional future. It is high time to think about what will happen in a week, in a month, in the summer. Massive testing and progressive vaccination must bring hope to society, a touch of normality and reasonably and respectfully allow the functioning of culture.

We appeal for the expedited start of the postponed consultations with experts from the Ministry of Health so that we can tell the public no later than March 27th when and under what conditions the artist will meet his audience and the student his teacher again.

World Theatre Day falls on 27 March every year and has been celebrated since 1962. In recent years, it has been combined with World Theatre Day for Children and Young People (20 March) and World Puppetry Day (21 March) in one week. The World Theatre Day celebrations are organised by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), a non-governmental theatre organisation affiliated with UNESCO. This day is an opportunity to reflect on the role and importance of theatre as an art form and to draw attention to the importance of theatre to governments, politicians and institutions that have not yet recognised its value for human communities and individuals and its potential for economic growth. The author of the first World Theatre Day message was Jean Cocteau, and in 1994 the international theatre community chose Václav Havel as the author of the message. This year, the author of the message is Helen Mirren, a theatre, film and television actress from Great Britain.

​You can find the texts of the messages at these links:

• ​World Day of Theatre for Children and Youth proclaimed by the International Association of Theatres for Children and Youth ASSITEJ on March 20

• World Puppetry Day proclaimed by the International Puppetry Union UNIMA on March 21
• World Theatre Day proclaimed by the International Theatre Institute ITI on March 27