NEW YORK CITY: La MaMa, in association with Spiderwoman Theater, has announced the Global Indigenous Theatre Festival, a nine-day festival produced in collaboration with Loose Change Productions. It will bring artists from all over the world to New York to celebrate Spiderwoman Theater’s 50th anniversary and to honor the transformative excellence of Indigenous cultures. It showcases a range of Indigenous artists from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Minneapolis. It runs Oct. 30-Nov. 7, 2026 at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre and Downstairs Theatre. Tickets are now on sale online.
According to Spiderwoman Theater artistic director Muriel Miguel, the idea for the Global Indigenous Theatre Festival started to percolate during a 2024 trip to Australia. “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 in a statement. “Having traveled the world for five decades, we have always felt at home in the many communities we visited.
“This two-week showcase of performances, workshops, and visual arts is our way of celebrating global Indigenous cultures and excellence,” she continued. “We are profoundly honored to share this space with international artists while paying tribute to four generations of the local Indigenous community here at home who have always lifted us up. These artists, companies, and communities are truly our legacy and our joy.”
The opening performance will be Kōpū (Oct. 30-Nov. 1), by the Aotearoa-New Zealand-based company Te Pou Theatre. The young wāhine Māori of Kōpū weave live music, performance, poetry, and poi through a “hilariously honest, no-holds-barred account of their femininity on their own terms,” as they navigate this world, “hairy nipples first.”
Over the same weekend, the Minneapolis-based Ikidowin Theater Ensemble will perform Invisible Shadows (Oct. 30-Nov. 1), which reflects the real-life struggles of urban Indigenous youth finding their culture amidst an opioid epidemic. Written by Sharon Day and directed by Sir Curtis Kirby, the production centers on the collision between the youths’ aspirations and the heavy realities of addiction in their homes.
From Australia, Moogahlin Performing Arts will bring Maayuma li Mubirr (Healing Scars) (Nov. 4-6), a performance by Yuwalaaraay composer and performer Warren Mason. It traces the intergenerational journey lines of First Peoples healing from injustice, and aims to honor matriarchy, survival, strength, and the power of First Peoples storytelling.
Aanmitaagzi, based in Nipissing First Nation, Ontario, Canada, will present All My R(el)ations (Nov. 4-6), an intergenerational multidisciplinary dance theatre project built on years of storytelling luncheons with elders to celebrate a return to community. This collaborative performance and visual art installation culminates six years of continuous workshops, youth intensives, and community inventories designed to bring the project’s title to life.
The festival closes on Nov. 7 with a 50th anniversary gala celebrating the legacy of Spiderwoman Theater. Curated by Murielle Borst-Tarrant, the event will feature retrospective performance excerpts and pay tribute to the next generation of legacy-bearing artists.
General admission tickets are $30 and student and senior tickets are $25, with Support the Artists tickets at $50. Ten tickets to every performance are $10 each. Two show ticket packages start at $40 and a Full Festival Pass, which includes access to all 5 events, is $100.
