Alkantara Festival 2026: 17 days of dance and theatre across Lisbon, from Rwanda to South Korea
Lisbon's Alkantara Festival runs from 13 to 29 November at venues including the D. Maria II national theatre, Culturgest, CCB and CAM Gulbenkian. It opens with Cão Solteiro's farewell piece. Tickets are sold by each venue; workshops are free with registration.
For seventeen days, from 13 to 29 November, the Alkantara Festival takes over a good chunk of Lisbon. Dance, theatre and performance fill venues from the D. Maria II national theatre to Culturgest, the CCB and the CAM Gulbenkian, by way of MAAT, the MNAC and Teatro do Bairro Alto.
The full day-by-day schedule, with times, is on the Alkantara Festival website.
It opens with a goodbye
The first night belongs to Cão Solteiro. The Lisbon company and filmmaker André Godinho present a farewell piece, “Menos de Cão Solteiro & André Godinho”, in the Sala Garrett at D. Maria II on 13 (9pm), 14 (7pm) and 15 November (4pm). At 10pm on the 13th, the MeioFio collective throws the opening party.
The first weekend also has South Korean artist Jaha Koo’s “Haribo Kimchi” and Italian choreographer Alessandro Sciarroni’s “Save the Last Dance for Me”, with two shows at the CCB on Saturday the 14th (3pm and 5pm). Dorothée Munyaneza, who works between Rwanda and France, gives “Shikama” its world premiere at CAM Gulbenkian from 14 to 16. And Eritrean-Italian artist Muna Mussie brings “Cinema Impero” to the MNAC.
Mid-festival and the final week
On 21 and 22 November, Rimini Protokoll stage “Mali Futuro Live”. On Sunday the 22nd at 11am, the collective’s co-founder Stefan Kaegi gives a talk on absent performers and audiences who take on roles.
The last week is one of the busiest. Brazilian artist Carolina Bianchi brings “The Brotherhood”, the second chapter of her Cadela Força trilogy, to Culturgest (26 to 28). Cleo Diára, who works between Cape Verde and Portugal, shows “Please, Love Me!” at Teatro do Bairro Alto (27 to 29). Lebanese choreographer Ali Chahrour takes “Quando Vi o Mar” to D. Maria II (27 and 28), and Tita Maravilha and Vânia Doutel Vaz close the festival with “Prato Feito REPARA” at MAAT (28 and 29).
After the curtain
Casa Independente, in the Intendente neighbourhood, is the festival’s meeting point, with DJ sets and gigs on several nights. Some shows are followed by talks, and the workshops and masterclass are free, with registration on the website.
Tickets
Tickets are sold by each venue, online and at the box office, and prices differ from one to the next. There are concessions for students, teachers, unemployed people, people with disabilities and their companions, arts professionals and groups.
November in Lisbon was already busy, between the 35 shows of Misty Fest and LEFFEST turning 20 with Cronenberg on its jury. Alkantara is the pick for anyone who would rather watch a body on a stage than a screen.
Illustration: Tugadaily