MADE.Festival 2026

Dance and theatre performances, sound essays, drama, video installations, urban interventions, documentary theatre and more will make up a rich programme for 2026.

With around 20 guest performances throughout the RheinMain area, contemporary theatre will present itself with current themes. With its multiple networking strategies between artists, organisers and audiences, MADE. is unique in Germany and a focal point for the independent dance and theatre scene in Hesse.

Each edition of MADE. has a different thematic focus. The motto for the 8th festival is: WHO with WHOM?

The performing arts usually unfold in community, as a collective work, in a large ensemble. And they are conditioned by an even greater collaboration with the audience. WHO with WHOM asks about this network of relationships, which can be very fresh and young, but also decades old. The actions and attitudes of other people in the past and present produce reactions in life and ways of playing in art. WHO has shaped our lives, WHO shapes, subverts and inspires our society, and from WHOM (or WHAT) do we prefer to keep our distance?

For MADE.2026, eight pieces were selected from 70 applications that address these questions in a playful, thoughtful and inspiring way. We look forward to your visit!

The festival venues:

Frankfurt – Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Produktionshaus NAXOS

Offenbach – Theateratelier 14H, Klingspor-Museum, Wetterpark

Darmstadt – Staatstheater Darmstadt, Theater Moller Haus

Wiesbaden – Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Villa Clementine

among more

MADE. is dedicated to giving theatre projects from Hesse’s independent scene greater visibility and recognition, bringing the latest developments of this vibrant community closer to audiences, and opening up perspectives beyond mainstream showcase culture and pure entertainment.

In doing so, the festival contributes to aesthetic, discursive and cultural diversity. From submissions to an open call, a professional jury selects up to six particularly outstanding productions that address contemporary issues in distinctive ways. These works are presented across several festival venues, accompanied by a lively supporting programme with various participatory formats. In addition, both an audience award and a juried scene award are conferred.

laPROF e.V. serves as the umbrella organisation of Hesse’s independent scene. Partners include: cultural offices Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Wiesbaden, Offenbach