Verona Shakespeare Fringe CALL

The Verona Shakespeare Fringe seeks productions and project proposals for its 2026 Festival held in Verona, July 20-26: please consider joining us! The Fringe is organised by the Skenè Research Centre at the University of Verona, in collaboration with the Conservatorio di Verona Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco (Verona, IT), European Shakespeare Festivals Network, Faculty of Dramatic Arts (Belgrade, SRB), Fondazione Teatro Atlantide (Verona, IT), Guilford School of Acting (Surrey, UK), HamletScenen (DEN), Ippogrifo Produzioni (Verona, IT), Teatro Ristori (Verona, IT), Teatro Scientifico – Teatro Laboratorio (Verona, IT), and Westmond College (US). VSF takes place on the same days as the Shakespeare and the Mediterranean Summer School organised by Skenè. The VSF is at once lab, studio, crucible, incubator, hothouse, and platform. It values experimentation and conversation, expression and debate, and the lively exchange of ideas.

Companies will be contacted by the Skenè team who will take care of the organisation of the festival. For enquiries please contact vsf.skene@ateneo.univr.it ⟶ This year is especially exciting, as the VSF runs concurrently with the World Shakespeare Congress, where hundreds of Shakespearean scholars will meet to discuss and present the contemporary relevance of Shakespeare’s plays. The 2026 Fringe will certainly be a once-in-a- lifetime experience. Please see detailed information about WSC here.

The Verona Shakespeare Fringe seeks proposals that fit the festival’s vision for new, untried, untested, and/or innovative Shakespearean productions, along with already established productions that are animated by some combination of the following:

  • New, original, and/or experimental approaches to Shakespeare’s plays and poetry;
  • Artists, researchers, and companies engaged in intercultural, multi-lingual, intergenerational, or international work;
  • Devised Theatre;
  • International co-productions;
  • Intersectional work in terms of live and digital performance, and World Premiere performances.

The VSF will be hosted at the Teatro SS. Trinità, located in the heart of Verona, near the Arena. VSF participants will engage with students, scholars, audience members, and other artists in a rich exchange of performances, Q&A sessions, and social events. (For further information on the venue,  SEE RIDER HERE)

January 15, 2026

Selection process and results:

By the end of January short-listed candidates will be notified with a view to an online meeting with the ADs and the selection committee;
In early February results will be notified via email (vsf.skene@ateneo.univr.it).

USEFUL LINKS

Full call: Call for applications – 2026 Edition – Verona Shakespeare Fringe

Please see detailed information about Skenè Research Centre here

Please see detailed information about VSF here

Please see detailed information about SaM here