Venice Biennale Theatre 2026 Awards Honor Emma Dante and Mario Banushi

The Venice Biennale has announced the recipients of its 2026 Theatre awards. Italian director Emma Dante will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, while Greek-Albanian director Mario Banushi has been awarded the Silver Lion. The decisions were made by the Biennale's Board of Directors based on recommendations from Theatre Director Willem Dafoe. The awards ceremony will take place during the 54th International Theatre Festival, scheduled from June 7 to 21, 2026, at Ca' Giustinian's Sala delle Colonne in Venice. Emma Dante, born in Palermo in 1967 and a graduate of Rome's Silvio d'Amico Academy, is recognized for her influential career spanning theatre and opera. She founded the Sud Costa Occidentale company in Palermo in 1999 and has worked at major venues worldwide, including Milan's Piccolo Teatro, Paris's Comédie-Française, and the Avignon Festival. At the upcoming festival, she will premiere 'I fantasmi di Basile,' continuing her exploration of Neapolitan writer Giambattista Basile's work. Mario Banushi, born in Athens in 1998 and raised partly in Albania, studied at Athens Conservatory's Drama School. He gained attention with his debut 'Ragada,' created during pandemic lockdowns in a private apartment. His subsequent works, including 'Goodbye, Lindita' and 'Taverna Miresia,' form the 'Romance Familiare' trilogy, which he will present in full at the festival. Banushi's theatre emphasizes visual, non-verbal storytelling rooted in Balkan culture. Previous Golden Lion recipients include Ferruccio Soleri, Ariane Mnouchkine, and more recently, Back to Back Theatre (2024) and Elizabeth LeCompte (2025). Past Silver Lion winners include Rimini Protokoll, Angélica Liddell, and Ursina Lardi (2025).