#KITFest 2026
Open call for Vendors
KITFest 2026 is calling for vendors to showcase their products and services at the festival. This is a great opportunity for local businesses and artisans to reach a diverse audience and be part of Kenya's premier theatre festival. Apply now to secure your spot and be part of the vibrant KITFest community.
The Noisemakers
The Masks
Octopus Garden (Jardín de Pulpos)
Polish Heritage in Motion
Poetry After Lunch
Palunko's Wife
The Director At Work
A masterclass in the craft of directing focused on seeing, hearing, and creating differently to drive the entire production journey up to opening night. It is structured as a lecture-demonstration covering the text, communication, developing a production concept, and placing special emphasis on directing the actor's performance using pre-memorized texts.
.jpeg)
Introduction to Playback Theatre: Foundation Training for Kenyan Performance Artists
A 3-day intensive foundational training led by the South African Playback Theatre Association (SAPTA)—affiliated with the International Playback Theatre Network (IPTN)—introducing Kenyan performance artists to improvisational playback techniques. Participants will learn how to transform real-time audience stories and emotions into theatrical enactments, building skills for community counseling, therapeutic arts applications, and collective storytelling. Graduates gain the unique opportunity to form Kenya's pioneering Playback Theatre team, secure placement in an upcoming Kenya-based project, and unlock sustainable post-training employment opportunities.
.jpeg)
The Actor At Work
A session sharing insights on the professional training and practice of acting, emphasizing actor training to avoid typecasting, demonstrating range and depth, the discipline of preparation, maintaining a strong professional reputation, and adapting acting techniques to different genres.
.jpeg)
Locating Creative Markets and Cultural Flows: A Pan-African Perspective
A masterclass focusing on mapping creative markets across the African continent and understanding how to access them. The session explores the mechanics of continental cultural flows, mapping out a strategic touring circuit across West, South, and East Africa to help theatre practitioners and creative entrepreneurs scale their productions beyond local borders.
.jpeg)
The Imaginative Body
A pedagogy and workshop rooted in Kutiyattam and contemporary performance training that addresses the balance between preserving tradition and finding new expressive possibilities. It focuses on internalizing Kutiyattam principles to emerge through an imaginative and responsive body, exploring the relationship between the personal, actor's, and character bodies through physical exercises and performance explorations to bridge classical principles with contemporary practice.
.jpeg)
Building a Sustainable Career in Kenyan Theatre
A candid, experience-driven workshop for emerging theatre artists on what it really takes to sustain a career in the arts beyond landing individual roles. The session will draw on the facilitator's own journey navigating Kenya's theatre industry — from early apprenticeship under seasoned professionals to building a multi-pronged career spanning performance, teaching, directing, and theatre management. Participants will explore how to diversify their skills and income within the arts, build a durable professional reputation, and navigate the structural realities of Kenya's theatre economy — leaving with practical insight into building a career, not just chasing a break.
Festival Highlights
Partiticipation
You can participate in KITFest through the following ways: trainees, volunteers, audiences, vendors and partners.
Shows and Events
The focus of our shows and events is on the development of Kenyan theatre. Through international performances and training and workshops, we strive to enhance theatre through new ideas and progressive steps.
Experiences
Apart from theatrical performances, the festival provides attendees with a variety of different experiences. Most activities at KITFest are curated to promote fun, knowledge sharing, collaboration, and cultural exchange.
Partnerships
With our partners, we have the resources necessary to stage a festival of the highest quality and deliver the incredible experiences we always strive to provide. You can be part of the amazing organizations that have supported KITFest over the years.
Venues
From humble beginnings to global reach, the story of KITFest dates back to the year 2013, when the festival was just an idea on our founder's mind. Explore the progress KITFest has made and the promise of a powerful future by going on a journey through time. Coming soon.
The Team
It is the efforts of many individuals and organizations that make this festival possible each year. KITFest's success depends, however, heavily on the main management team that provides vision and leadership. The teams' profiles coming up soon.
Festival Stats
Our Programs
KITFest Programs bring together diverse artistic initiatives that promote theatre, cultural exchange, and creative expression across Kenya and beyond. From large-scale festivals to specialized training and mentorship programs, each initiative empowers artists to grow, connect, and share stories with the world.
