Kyiv Hosts First KЇ FEST International Theater Festival With 4,000 Guests From Ukraine and Abroad

The festival, organized by the Non-Governmental Organization KЇ PLATFORMA, featured 13 events as part of its official program and brought together around 80 directors, actors, and creative team members.

The event also hosted nearly 15 international directors and curators from Lithuania, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Austria.

According to festival founder Kristina Kisielovaite, one of the key outcomes of KЇ FEST 2026 was the establishment of new international connections and the launch of discussions on future collaborations.

“Organizing each event was both a major challenge and an absolute pleasure,” Kisielovaite said. “We presented works by directors Tamara Trunova, Oksana Dmytriieva, Olha Semioshkina, Tetiana Kosteniuk, and Mariia Shvarniova, and also created two exclusive premieres in collaboration.”

She added that a separate production had been created specifically for the Concert Hall venue on Kyrylivska Street in Kyiv.

“All of this became possible first and foremost thanks to the team and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We are grateful to the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine and the Lithuanian Culture Institute, which became the first international institutions to support the project,” Kisielovaite said.

Organizers noted that discussions are currently underway regarding possible tours in Lithuania for Ukrainian productions presented during the festival. Lithuanian theater representatives also expressed interest in future cooperation with Ukrainian directors featured in this year’s showcase.

Another outcome of the festival was the creation of a network of international ambassadors for the project—cultural professionals who attended the event and are expected to promote the KЇ FEST experience in their home countries.

Among the international guests was renowned Lithuanian theater director Oskaras Koršunovas, who visited Kyiv for the first time to attend the festival.

Representatives of diplomatic and cultural institutions from Croatia, Slovakia, Greece, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Austria also attended the festival.

Ricardo López-Aranda Jagu attended the productions “Brecht.Cabaret” and the Opera Aperta premiere, after which he expressed interest in future cooperation. Meanwhile, Elena Leticia Mikusinski attended the performance of “The Trojan Women” at the Concert Hall venue.

The growing international visibility of Ukrainian documentary and contemporary theater has also extended beyond Ukraine. Earlier this year, the City Assembly House in Dublin hosted the premiere of “Diary of War,” a documentary theater production based on the personal diaries of Ukrainians.

The performance, staged ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, was dedicated to the memory of Iryna Tsybukh, a combat medic with the Hospitallers Medical Battalion who was killed while serving on the front line.

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