WORLD THEATRE IN SOFIA is a platform for presenting international theatre and dance productions, organized by the VIA FEST Foundation since 2007. Its mission is to introduce the Bulgarian audience to leading names and trends in contemporary performing arts worldwide. The platform takes place every year in June, while individual projects may also be realized outside this time frame. To achieve its goals, World Theatre in Sofia relies on partnerships with Sofia Municipality (it has been part of the city’s cultural calendar since 2011), with Bulgarian and foreign governmental and non-governmental organizations, with
cultural institutes, and through participation in international programmes.

Thanks to the platform, over the years Sofia has hosted productions by directors who have shaped the face of contemporary theatre, such as Peter Brook, Declan Donnellan, Oskaras Koršunovas, Romeo Castellucci, Jernej Lorenci, Johan Simons, Pippo Delbono, Viktor Bodó, Alessandro Serra, Jan Fabre, Silviu Purcărete, and many others – most of them presented in Bulgaria for the first time. The programme has also featured some of the most innovative theatre collectives, including Forced Entertainment and Rimini Protokoll; dance companies such as Marie Chouinard and Maguy Marin; as well as Bulgarian artists working abroad, including Samuel Finzi, Ivan Panteleev, Galin Stoev, Javor Gardev, and others.

Since 2011, the platform has offered cinema screenings of major international stage productions, and since 2020 — digital broadcasts of iconic works from theatre history and the contemporary stage.