About the festival

From August 15 to 19, 2025, the third International Freedom Theatre Festival will take place in Narva. The program and additional information will be available at the beginning of 2025!

The shifting global order and the fractures in democratic societies are among the most pressing issues of our time. The rise of totalitarian forces, wars, and tensions in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Asia affect us all. The concept of freedom has never been more relevant, reflecting the transformative events shaping our world.

In many countries, freedom is under threat, yet there are still those who courageously stand up for it, even in the face of great danger. Freedom Theatre Festival 2025 provides these theatre makers with a voice and a platform, showcasing performances from countries grappling with serious challenges to free expression. The festival features productions from Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan, offering diverse perspectives on conflicts. The program places special emphasis on documentary theatre, exploring themes of freedom, memory, and destruction—often through the lens of female artists.

To curate the 2025 program, our team of curators has traveled across three continents, reviewing nearly 100 productions to select the very best for Narva. The festival will take place from August 15 to 19, 2025, and promises a rich and thought-provoking artistic experience.

The city of Narva is the right place to organize an international festival with this thematic focus – it is located on the border of two different civilizations, on one hand, the free world ends in Narva and on the other hand, it is the starting point of the free world.

The productions will be performed in different places in Narva. The heart of the festival is the Vaba Lava Narva Theatre Centre at Linda 2.