From 12 to 16 October, Sofia will become a stage for international dialogue between theatre, dance and contemporary artistic practices. Alma Alter Laboratory Theatre at Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski will host the 2026 edition of the Alter Ego International Festival. Over five days, Bulgarian audiences and visitors to the capital will have the opportunity to encounter artists and companies from Poland, the Netherlands, the United States, Spain, France and Bulgaria.
The programme features performances, practical workshops and discussions with guest artists, placing the performer’s live presence and the body as a means of artistic expression at its heart.
The festival opens on 12 October with CRUMBS, presented by Polish artists Jarosław Fret and Monika Wachowicz of Studio Wachowicz/Fret and the Grotowski Institute.
"CRUMBS"
PHOTO facebook.com/theatreforumalter
On October 13, the programme continues with the Four Centres workshop, Apocalypsis cum figuris - Conversatorium, and Liefhebben, a performance by Dutch artist Nina Wijnmaalen.
Scene from "Liefhebben" of Nina Wijnmaalen
PHOTO facebook.com/theatreforumalter
On 14 October, American artist Rebecca Hoback will lead the workshop Embody the Movement of Mellow Drama, while Alma Alter Laboratory Theatre will present its production King Lear: A Legend of Lost Eyes.
Rebecca Hoback will return on 15 October with Mellow Drama. On the same day, Spanish artists Vir Torres and Matilde ciria will present the dance performance Borboleta do Cèu e da Terra.
On the festival’s final day, French company Brainstorm Dance Company will take part with Conversatorium and the performance Entrelacées.
PHOTO facebook.com/theatreforumalter
Alter Ego also offers opportunities for direct interaction between artists and audiences through art workshops and discussions. In this way, the festival seeks not merely to explore the differences between theatrical and dance traditions, but to discover the common language that can emerge between them.
The Alter Ego International Festival is held under the patronage of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Culture, with support from the European Solidarity Corps programme, the European Union and Sofia Municipality.
All events take place at Alma Alter Laboratory Theatre, located in the Sofia University building at 15 Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard.
Edited by Elena Karkalanova