Mitsikouri International Performing Arts Festival is aimed at young people and their families

Autumn is a busy month for the island’s cultural agenda as festivals, markets, exhibitions and theatre productions return. Annual festivals make their comeback, and most of them are addressed to adults, but what about younger audiences?

Mitsikouri Festival, or the Mitsikouri International Performing Arts Festival for Children and Young People, is a week-long event with dedicated performances just for children and families. This October, in its second edition, it presents eleven productions from nine countries, along with a rich parallel programme.

Following the great success of its inaugural edition, the festival returns with an ambitious programme under the slogan ‘Discovering’, offering performances aimed at children of all ages. From October 11 to 19, Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos, and Lefkara will burst with performances.

The festival’s programme includes a wide variety of theatre, dance, music, object theatre and contemporary circus performances, many of which have been showcased at major international festivals of performing arts for children and young audiences. The majority of the performances are non-verbal, making them accessible to children of all backgrounds.

According to organisers: “the aim of the festival is to connect both the Cypriot public and the local artistic community with contemporary trends in the field of performing arts for children and young people worldwide, while offering unique experiences for the whole family.”

The festival also presents a rich parallel programme, which will be announced shortly, and will include workshops, lectures, seminars, discussions and other activities. These events are designed for children, parents and guardians, educators and arts professionals.

A significant aspect of this year’s edition is the collaboration with institutions such as the National Betting Authority and Nicosia Bookfest, as well as with the two candidate cities competing for the title of European Capital of Culture 2030. In addition, all international productions featured in the festival are held under the auspices of the embassies in Cyprus of their respective countries.

Participating this year are productions from The Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Cyprus, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Germany and Ireland. With just over a month to go until the festival lifts the curtain, the full programme of performances is on its website (https://www.assitej-cyprus.com/mitsikouri-fest) and tickets are already on sale on the SoldOut website.

2nd Mitsikouri International Performing Arts Festival for Children and Young People

11 productions from 9 countries. October 11-19. Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos, and Lefkara. https://www.assitej-cyprus.com/mitsikouri-fest