European Theatres Interrogate ‘Truth’ and ‘Freedom’ and Mark Major Sustainability Milestone at ETC Conference in Riga

From 5–9 November 2025, 300 European theatre leaders gathered at Dailes Theatre in Riga for the ETC International Theatre Conference, STAGES Forum and Latvian Theatre Showcase, three landmark events exploring the future of European theatre under the themes of truth, nationalism, and sustainability.

Under the title ‘Stage for Truth. Whose Truth?’, the conference gathered artists and policy figures from Latvia and broader Europe to reflect on the role of theatre in tumultuous times. This included José Manuel Fernández-Arroyo (European Commission), Agnese Lāce (Latvian Minister for Culture), Tomass Pildegovičs (Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Viesturs Kairišs (Artistic Director, Dailes Theatre), Santa Remere (New Theatre Institute of Latvia), Milo Rau (Wiener Festwochen), Irene Pavesi and Jennifer Laourou (Artistic Freedom Initiative), Lotta Lekvall (Folkteatern Göteborg), Pascal Gielen (Sociologist), Richard Sennett (Sociologist) and Data Tavadze (Director, Georgia).

During the main panel, speakers reflected on the role of theatre in the wake of one of the largest protests in recent Latvian history, against the parliament’s proposed decision to withdraw from the ‘Istanbul Convention’ on support for women who are victims of violence, on the influence of Russia, and on dealing with political repression and mounting budget cuts across the continent.

Artistic Freedom and Solidarity

The thematic focus on artistic freedom was framed by a keynote address from sociologist Richard Sennett, “Politics and Theatre”, which examined how cultural institutions navigate their role when political pressures, nationalist narratives, and economic precarity converge. Sennett highlighted theatre as a public space where disagreement can be held, rather than erased, reminding delegates that the health of a democracy can be measured by how it treats dissenting cultural voices.

In this context, Milo Rau, Artistic Director of the ETC Member Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna, reflected on the Resistance Now Together platform, initiated together with ETC in April 2025 to respond to the growing pattern of political interventions in artistic programming across Europe. Rau also shared the most recent example of this trend: the blocking of his production The Pelicot Trial from the Belgrade International Theatre Festival (BITEF), noting that such actions risk becoming “a new normal in Europe, where the border of what is permissible shifts a little further each time.”

In response, ETC President Claudia Belchior stated:

“Today, solidarity cannot be just a word in a speech. It must be a practice. That is why we reiterate our support for Milo Rau. The decision to exclude his work from BITEF after he spoke openly about political issues is not only an attack on one artist. It is a warning to all of us. ETC stands firmly for:
Artistic freedom — to create and to question without fear.
Institutional autonomy — for theatres to decide freely, not politically.
Cultural solidarity — because when one artist is silenced, all of us feel it.”

Building on the momentum of Resistance Now Together, the conference advanced the development of concrete policy tools: the first draft framework for a European Artistic Freedom Act (EAFA) was presented and discussed in working sessions across the network. The Act aims to formalise sector-wide mechanisms that protect artistic expression, institutional autonomy, and transnational solidarity.

The table talks and peer-to-peer sessions that followed were designed as direct, practical continuations of the panel and keynote. They focused on how theatre leaders can maintain ambitious, critical programming under increasing political and financial constraints, while safeguarding staff, artists, and institutional mission with new strategies.

Bold Step Towards Climate Neutrality

At the heart of the activities, ETC proudly announced that Member Theatres from 12 countries achieved the ‘Basic’ level attribution in at least one of their categories of productions, buildings, and operations within the framework of the ETC Theatre Green Book, the Europe-wide self-certification to measure sustainability progress with a shared process in the theatre sector. This achievement, requiring significant progress on recycling and reusing materials, as well as calculating the carbon footprint marks the second of four levels—a crucial milestone on the path to the ultimate goal of ‘Advanced’, equivalent to net zero emissions or climate neutrality.

This list includes major national theatres in Italy, Czech Republic, Belgium and Luxembourg. A full list is below.

In addition, as part of the final STAGES Forum, from 5-6 November, ETC published the STAGES Casebook, a collection of 21 articles written by partners from the STAGES project across Europe.

This is now free to download in the ETC Online Library.

Divided into three sections—Sustainable Productions, Sustainable Transformations, and Sustainable Futures—the Casebook captures the diverse perspectives and practical experiences of artists, managers, and sustainability experts working to embed environmental responsibility into theatre-making and institutional change.

“These collective achievements represent a decisive moment for European theatre,” said Heidi Wiley, Executive Director of the European Theatre Convention. “Reaching the ‘Basic’ level means theatres are no longer only talking about sustainability—they are systematically transforming their artistic, technical, and organisational practices, and serving as a lighthouse for others in the sector. And the STAGES Casebook provides practical knowledge on implementing and confronting sustainability.

“These are bold and inspiring steps toward a greener, fairer and climate neutral sector in Europe.”

Change and Continuity for ETC

The ETC Conference marked a moment of renewal for the ETC network. Claudia Belchior, Executive General Coordinator at Centro Cultural de Belem, was re-elected as ETC President for another two-year term, reaffirming ETC’s commitment to leadership, sustainability, and artistic collaboration across Europe. Norbert Rakowski, Artistic Director of JK Opole Theatre/ Poland; and Tom Leick Burns, Artistic Director of Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, were elected as Vice-Presidents, while Iris Laufenberg, Artistic Director of Deutsches Theater Berlin, became Secretary.  

One new board member was elected, with Lotta Lekvall, CEO of Folkteatern Göteborg, replacing veteran board member and former Vice-President Paulien Geerlings, Head Dramaturg at De Toneelmakerij in The Netherlands, who stepped down. Re-elected board members were also Irene Moundriaki, National Theatre Greece / Athens, Barbara Ferrato, Teatro Stabilo de Torino / Italy and Marina Maleni THOC / Cyprus.
In addition, two new member theatres joined the ETC network:

• Teatr Nowy Poznan, Poland
• Theaterhaus Jena, Germany

Reflecting on the theme in an address to the ETC Conference, José Manuel Fernández-Arroyo, Deputy Head of Unit of Creative Europe, DG EAC, European Commission, said: “Artistic freedom is at the core of the democracy and we want to thank ETC and all of you for being at the forefront of defending, with your actions, artistic freedom. We from Creative Europe will keep working on guaranteeing that artistic freedom, cultural diversity, relation is always there because it is important. It's important to say things even when they are annoying - or especially if they are annoying.”

Juris Žagars, General Manager of Dailes Theatre, said: “Hosting the ETC International Theatre Conference and STAGES Forum in Riga is deeply meaningful. Latvia stands at the crossroads of history and geography, where questions of truth, freedom and identity are not abstract – they are lived every day. We are honoured to welcome our European colleagues to Dailes Theatre to share, debate and create together as they shape the future of European Theatre.”