The Mondial du Théâtre, also titled the International Festival of Amateur Theatre and the World Festival of Amateur Theatre is the premier festival in the world celebrating amateur and community theatre. It is organised by the Studio de Monaco and the International Association of Amateur Theatre and held every four years in the Principality of Monaco since its inaugural festival in 1957.

History

In 1957 Guy and Max Brousse and René Cellario, early leading figures of the International Association of Amateur Theatre, approached the Monegasque

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

 government to gain support for an International Festival. The first such festival, termed the International Festival of Amateur Theatre, took place in Monaco and attracted twelve troupes from across Europe at which the IATA held its 3rd Congress.

Both the festival and congress were a success and the Studio de Monaco, (the National Centre of the IATA), made an undertaking to organise every four years in the Principality of Monaco with the help of the Monegasque authorities, an International Festival and official Congress of IATA. The festival helped to increase the profile of the IATA and in turn as its stature grew so did that of the festival.

By the 1970s the number of participating drama troops had reached twenty, with countries from outside of Europe also participating. In 1997 a record 24 troupes from all 5 continents participated and this number has been maintained since. From that year the festival adopted a new name, the “Mondial du Théâtre”.

Participating nations

The 2009 festival saw the following 24 countries represented:
- Lieder Theatre Company (Goulburn) performing The colour play - Theater Abtenau Theater Holzhausen (Abtenau

Abtenau

Abtenau is a market town in the Hallein district of Salzburg, Austria.-Sister towns: Big Bear Lake...

 & Holzhausen

Holzhausen, Austria

Holzhausen is a municipality in the district of Wels-Land in Upper Austria, Austria....

) performing "My Monster" by Felix Mitterer - Stalteater (Oelegem) performing "Cyrano" after Edmond Rostand - China Liaoning Province Art Association (Shenyang

Shenyang

Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...

) performing "Folk Arts" by Kai Cui - Marabout Theatre (Kinshasa

Kinshasa

Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....

) performing "Zérocrate" by Nzey van Musala - Hudrar (Torshavn

Tórshavn

Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...

) performing Othello

Othello

The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...

 after Shakespeare - Ylioppilasteatteri (Tampere

Tampere

Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...

) performing "Kielipuolipolitas" (Dumb Show) by Neil Hardwick & Jussi Tuominen - Théâtre du Torrent (Annemasse

Annemasse

Annemasse is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the border with Switzerland. It is the second town in the Haute-Savoie department with a population estimated to 29'450 in 2010.-Geography:...

) performing "Le Premier" by Israël Horovitz - Dokumentartheater (Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

) performing Tänzerin hinter Stacheldraht (Dancer behind barbwire) by de Marina Schubarth - Kompania Theatre (Budakeszi

Budakeszi

Budakeszi is a town in Pest County, in the Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is located beyond the Jánoshegy hill at the western city limits of Budapest, about west of the Zero Kilometre Stone in the city centre...

) performing "Roméo et Juliette" after Shakespeare - Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrutik Sangh (Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

) performing "Maharashtra Maza" - Satu Kata (Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

) performing "Mission in peace" by Alika Chandra - Balally Players (Dublin) performing "Melody" by Deirdre Kinahan - Teatro dei Picari (Macerata

Macerata

Macerata is a city and comune in central Italy, the capital of the province of Macerata in the Marche region.The historical city center is located on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers. It consisted of the Picenes city named Ricina, then, after the romanization, Recina and Helvia Recina...

) performing "Pulcinella" by Manlio Santanelli - Kasai & Bungeiza (Toyama

Toyama, Toyama

is the capital city of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the Chūbu region on central Honshū, about 200 km north of the city of Nagoya and 300 km northwest of Tokyo....

) performing "The butterfly wavering in the wind" by Takagi Toru & Haruka Kasai - Pasvalys Theatre (Pasvalys

Pasvalys

Pasvalys is a city in Panevėžys County, Lithuania, located near the bank of the Svalia River. Its sister city is Götene in Sweden. In 1557, the Treaty of Pozvol was signed in the town, which provoked Ivan IV of Russia to start the Livonian War.-References:...

) performing "Helver’s Night" by Ingmar Villqist - Atlantis (Casablanca

Casablanca

Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...

) performing "Dounya" - Maguey Teatro (Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

) performing "Inticha y el Pajaro Nubero" - Theatre A Theatre Shanti Prievidza (Prievidza

Prievidza

Prievidza is a city in the central-western Slovakia. With 51,200 inhabitants it is one of the biggest municipalities in the Trenčín Region.-Features:...

) performing "A respectable wedding" by Bertold Brecht - Rebel Production (Johannesbourg) performing "father's sons" by Craig Van Zyl - La Galerna Sosten Teatro (Gijon

Gijón

Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...

) performing "Las Criadas" (The Maids) by Jean Genet - Drama Association (Inverclyde

Inverclyde

Inverclyde is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire - which current exists as a registration county and lieutenancy area - located in the west...

) performing "Tam O'Shanter" by Robert Burns - Heider Center for the Arts (West Salem, Wisconsin

West Salem, Wisconsin

West Salem is a village in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, along the La Crosse River. It is part of the La Crosse Metropolitan Area. The population was 4,799 at the 2010 census.-History:...

) performing "Cotton Patch Gospel" written by Clarence Jordan and Russell Treyz, original Music by Harry and Tom Chapin - Perras del Infierno Teatro (Caracas

Caracas

Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

) performing "Passport" by Gustavo Ott

Gustavo Ott

Gustavo Ott is a playwright, screenwriter, novelist and director who founded the Teatro San Martín de Caracas in 1993...

Venues

The performances take place in some of the most beautiful theatres in the Principality of Monaco:

• Salle Garnier - (Opera de Monte-Carlo)
• Princess Grace Theatre
• Théâtre des Variétés