Open call terms

The open call is for theatre companies based in any country, South Asia and beyond, proposing a staged production of 50 to 90 minutes for the festival programme. One submission per production; a company may submit more than one production.

The person submitting must be authorised to speak for the company and for every person listed as cast or crew.

Submissions opened on 1 September 2026. The portal closed at the end of 15 September 2026, reopened at 12:00 AM on 19 September 2026 and closed for good at 11:59 PM on 25 September 2026, Bangladesh Time (BST, UTC+6). It stopped accepting entries at that moment, and late entries cannot be considered.

The panel announces the twenty selected companies on 15 October 2026 by email to the contact person and on this site.

A submission is an application, not a booking. Submitting does not guarantee selection, a performance slot, or any payment, travel or accommodation. Those are set out in the participation guidelines sent to selected companies, which then form the agreement between the company and the festival.

The organisers select on artistic merit and on fit with the programme, the theme and the venues. Their decision is final and no reasons are given for individual outcomes.

The preview recording stays yours. By submitting it you allow the selection panel and festival staff to watch it for the purpose of selection only. It is not published, not shared outside the panel, and not kept after the retention periods in the privacy notice.

You confirm that you hold, or have cleared, the rights in the recording and in the production, including text, music and design, and that staging it at the festival would not infringe anyone else's rights.

You confirm that what you submit is true, including runtime and the cast and crew list. A selection made on inaccurate information may be withdrawn. Changes to the travelling party after selection are handled through the participation guidelines.

Selected companies stage their production at a Dhaka venue and a district venue between 26 and 29 December 2026 and take part in the Grand Closing at Cox's Bazar on 30 December 2026. Travel, accommodation and per-venue logistics for up to ten people per company are covered as described in the participation guidelines. Visas and passports remain each person's own responsibility; the festival provides the documents required for the application.

Personal data given in the submission is handled as described in the privacy notice, which forms part of these terms.

Questions about the open call go to hello@bangladeshtheatrecaravan2026.com. If these terms change before the deadline, the new version is published here with a new date and existing submissions are judged under whichever version is more favourable to the company.