The 13th edition of the São Paulo International Theater Show (MITsp) starts this Saturday (7) and runs until March 15, featuring 24 Brazilian and foreign productions exploring themes like violence and the environment. Held across 11 venues in the capital, the event highlights French writer Édouard Louis and companies from the Centro-Oeste region. A parallel program, Farofa do Processo, occupies independent spaces in Bexiga with works in development.
The MITsp, created in 2014 and inspired by Ruth Escobar's International Performing Arts Festival (1974-1999), brings together plays, choreographies, and performances with subtitles for foreign productions. This edition focuses on reflections on violence, including adaptations of Édouard Louis's books: 'História da Violência', directed by Thomas Ostermeier and produced by Berlin's Schaubühne, and 'Quem Matou Meu Pai', in which the author performs. Tickets for the show with Louis are sold out, according to artistic director Antônio Araujo. "It's a characteristic of the MIT to bring figures that go beyond theater, that irrigate theatrical thought," says Araujo.
Louis takes part in free debates: one on March 8 at 2 p.m. at Sesc Pinheiros (tickets on the day) and another on March 9 at 8:30 p.m. at Teatro Sérgio Cardoso (sold out). Other novelties include the 'Conexões Centro-Oeste' axis, with six shows from Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Brasília, such as 'Galhada, em Tempos de Fissura' and 'Cabeça de Toco', addressing climate crisis and environmental destruction. Febraro de Oliveira, from 'Cabeça de Toco', states: "We're seeing the world end first." Hercules Morais, from 'Repúblikkk ou Encruzilhada não É Beco', emphasizes: "The territory is not a fetish, an illustration. It's a protagonist".
Congolese Dieudonné Niangouna debuts with 'Do Lado de Cá', after being barred in a previous edition due to political persecution. There is also a 12-hour performance with black artists. Parallely, the 10th Farofa do Processo, from March 7 to 15 in Bexiga, features 60 process openings with 70 artists on a 'pay what you can' basis. Venues like Teatro do Incêndio and Casa Farofa host works by Georgette Fadel and Rodrigo França, plus Teatro de Vertigem's 'Agropeça'. Organizer Gabi Gonçalves explains: "Farofa always arises from production urgencies and in 2026 chooses to look more closely at independent spaces".
The event promotes international circulation, with 65 foreign programmers and 71 national ones present.
