Global Indigenous Theatre Festival: A New Chapter for Spiderwoman Theater
La MaMa, in association with Spiderwoman Theater and produced in collaboration with Loose Change Productions, has announced the Global Indigenous Theatre Festival, a nine-day event running from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7, 2026, at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre and Downstairs Theatre in New York City.
The nine-day festival brings international artists to New York to celebrate Spiderwoman Theater’s 50th anniversary and to honor the transformative excellence of Indigenous cultures. Showcasing performers from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Minneapolis, the event addresses logistical and cultural scales rarely attempted in contemporary festival programming.
How the Festival Sparked From an Australian Tour
The idea for the Global Indigenous Theatre Festival started to percolate during a 2024 trip to Australia. Spiderwoman Theater artistic director Muriel Miguel explained the origins in a published statement.
“We were blown away by a riveting, deeply moving performance by a First Nations dance company and by the warm welcome of the local First Nations communities,” Miguel said. “Having traveled the world for five decades, we have always felt at home in the many communities we visited.”
The resulting schedule features five distinct international productions alongside workshops and visual arts installations. General admission tickets are priced at $30, with student and senior tickets available for $25 and Support the Artists tickets at $50. Ten tickets to every performance are priced at $10 each, while two-show ticket packages start at $40 and Full Festival Passes granting access to all five events cost $100.
Te Pou Theatre and Other International Groups Open Festival
The festival opens with Kōpū, running from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, presented by the Aotearoa-New Zealand-based company Te Pou Theatre. The production features young wāhine Māori weaving live music, performance, poetry, and poi through an account of modern femininity. Running over the same weekend, the Minneapolis-based Ikidowin Theater Ensemble will perform Invisible Shadows from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. Written by Sharon Day and directed by Sir Curtis Kirby, the piece explores the realities of urban Indigenous youth navigating an opioid epidemic.
From Australia, Moogahlin Performing Arts brings Maayuma li Mubirr (Healing Scars) from Nov. 4 to 6. Performed by Yuwalaaraay composer and performer Warren Mason, the work traces intergenerational journey lines of First Peoples healing from injustice. Concurrently, Aanmitaagzi, based in Nipissing First Nation in Ontario, Canada, presents All My R(el)ations from Nov. 4 to 6. The multidisciplinary dance theatre project culminates six years of continuous workshops and community inventories.
The festival closes on Nov. 7 with a 50th-anniversary gala curated by Murielle Borst-Tarrant. The event features retrospective performance excerpts and pays tribute to legacy-bearing artists.
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