The Ballad of Yanhe River Photo:Courtesy of Xi'an Theater

The 2024 World Theatre Day celebration is set to take place from Wednesday to Friday in Langfang, North China's Hebei Province. 

Theater professionals from around the world will gather in the city, where Norwegian playwright, novelist and 2023's ­Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Jon Fosse, will attend as a keynote speaker.

World Theatre Day, one of the core events of the International Theatre Institute, has been celebrated globally on March 27 every year since 1962. This year's celebration will feature a rich array of activities, including conferences, celebratory performances, seminars and workshops.

After a seven-year hiatus, this year's World Theatre Day celebration returns to China, hosted at the Langfang International Theatre Park. A roundtable dialogue among theater professionals from China and abroad is one of the key highlights of the event.

The roundtable discussions will consist of three forums focusing on the themes: Theater as a Bridge of Communication Between Hearts, Theater as a Medium for Cultural Diversity, and Theater as a Stage for Youthful Energy Burst. During the event, domestic and international experts will engage in exchanges and discussions on these topics.

Moreover, the 2024 World Theatre Day celebration will feature a diverse range of ­per-formances from theater and art groups from China and abroad.  

For example, French interdisciplinary theater artist Matthieu Rauchvarger will unveil the beauty of the fusion between theater and interdisciplinary arts. 

Cuban choreographer Susana Pous will lead participants to delve into the unique charm of Cuban choreography, while a collection of classic traditional Chinese opera performances will also be presented in rotation.