Founded in 1993 by Constantin Chiriac, the festival programme features renowned names of the international stage, offering spectators a broad range of sections, with guests from around 73 countries per edition, performing approximately 550 events.
Famous world-class or young directors with a huge potential have contributed to the notoriety of the festival: Rimas Tuminas, Andriy Zholdak, Hanoch Levin, Lev Erenburg, Eugenio Barba, Yuri Kordonsky, Pippo Delbono, Eimuntas Nekrošius, Masahiro Yasuda, Levan Tsuladze, Lars Norén, Peter Brook, Armin Petras, Joël Pommerat, Declan Donnellan, Hideki Noda (playwright), Ivan Vyrypaev, Peter Stein, Wajdi Mouawad, Krystian Lupa, Lev Dodin, Angélica Liddell, Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota, Data Tavadze, Kazuyoshi Kushida, Yoshi Oida, Monika Strzepka, Christoph Marthaler, Thomas Ostermeier, Luk Perceval, Jarosław Fret, Alvis Hermanis, Tim Robbins, Tang Shu-wing, Philippe Genty, Akihiro Yamamoto, Jernej Lorenci, Robert Wilson (director), Eric Lacascade, Lisa Peterson, Eirik Stubø, Timofey Kulyabin, and many more.
Some remarkable contemporary or traditional dance choreographers have left their mark on the history of the festival: Karine Ponties, Amir Kolben, Gigi Căciuleanu, Adi Sha'al, Nicole Mossoux, Patrick Bonté, Lia Rodrigues, Marie Chouinard, Noa Wertheim, Răzvan Mazilu, Thierry Smits, Barak Marshall, Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak Dance Company, Sasha Waltz, Alain Buffard, Paco Peña, Rocío Molina, Olivier Dubois, Ohad Naharin, María Pagés, Jesus Carmona, Brenda Angiel, Ziya Azazi, Jin Xing, Linda Kapetanea, Aditi Mangaldas, Yamamoto Akihiro, Damien Jalet, Hervé Koubi, Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray, Peter Sellers, Gregory Maqoma, Itzik Galili, Eun-Me Ahn, Michèle Noiret, Luca Silvestrini.
Through the editions of FITS, the churches in Sibiu and in the surrounding area (Mărginimea Sibiului) have hosted a series of fado, gospel, organ, opera and other types of concerts, held by Romanian and international artists and bands, such as Weinberger Blues Machine, Isabelle Roy, Felix Dima Quarteto, Celina Ramsauer, Max Vandervorst, Cantabile, André Mergenthaler, Ursula Philippi, Orchestra Bibescu, Marius Mihalache, Matthias Anton Quartett, Mariachi Figueroa, Kleztory, Mandinga, Stockholm Lisboa Project, Shaun Davey, Ensemble Renaissance, Grigore Leșe, Francesco Agnello, Grupul Vocal Acapella, IDMC Gospel Choir, Compagnie Lyrique Corse, Llarena “Michito”, Cantabile – The London Quartet, The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices, Maria Berasarte, Sanda Weigl, Howard Gospel Choir, Group TAGO & AtoBIZ Ltd., Kurrende Choir from Tübingen & Sibiu State Philharmonics Orchestra & the Sibiu Bach Choir, SoNoRo, Fado Violado, Ana Sofia Varela, Adrian Naidin Quartet, Jorge Da Rocha, Cristiano de Sousa, Liviu Holender, Fiona Pollak Parvathy Baul.
Among the most important names are Teatr Osmego Dnia, Biuro Podróży, Neighbourhood Watch Stilts International, DAH Teater, Teatrul Masca, the Brass Band from Cozmești, Abracadabra Foundation, Osadia, Aktionstheater Pan.Optikum, Generik Vapeur, Compagnie Transe Express, Faber Teater, Compagnie Malabar, Compagnie Carabosse, Compagnie Opposito, Xarxa, Les Goulus, Plasticiens Volants, Aérosculpture, Teatr KTO, Ljud Company, La Salamandre, Carros de Foc, Bash Street Theatre, Sarruga Produccions, International Show Parade, Close-Act Theatre, Bilbobasso, Theater Titanick, David Dimitri, Cirq'ulation Locale, Cie. Faï, Kitonb Project, AAINJAA, Cie. Woest, Muare Experience & Duchamp Pilot, Cie Remue Ménage, Teatro tascabile di Bergamo, Planète Vapeur, Geschwister Weisheit, Teatro dei Venti, Architects of Air.
Throughout the festival history, several figures of the Romanian and international stage have talked to the festival audiences: Jonathan Mills, Pawel Potoroczyn, Mircea Dinescu, Sorin Alexandrescu, Jan Klata, Krystian Lupa, Neil LaBute, Peter Stein, Pippo Delbono, Wajdi Mouawad, Roman Dolzhansky, Tim Robbins, Eugenio Barba, Yevgeny Mironov, Jaroslaw Fret, Luk Perceval, Thomas Ostermeier, Vincent Baudriller, Irina Margareta Nistor, Ioan Holender, Akihiro Yamamoto, Christophe Sermet, Marcel Iureș, Rimas Tuminas, Robert Wilson, Vasile Șirli, Ada Solomon, David Baile, Ohad Naharin, Radu Jude, Alexandru Dabija, Tang Shu Wing, Cristian Mungiu, Isabelle Huppert, Eugenio Barba, Nicola Savarese, Ioan-Aurel Pop, Jean-Michel Ribes, Sever Voinescu, Denis O'Hare, Stan Lai.
As part of the studies and essays, the festival has published a series of books by authors such as: George Banu, Eugenio Barba, Augusto Boal, Luc Bondy, Michael Chekhov, John Russell Brown, Marina Davydova, Pippo Delbono, Maria M. Delgado, Nikolai Mihailovici Gorceakov, Thomas Ostermeier, Iulia Popovici, Olivier Py, Cristian Radu, Dan Rebellato, Nicola Savarese, Bruno Tackels, Matei Vișniec, Noel Witts.
At the end of each play-reading, spectators and listeners of Radio România Cultural can talk to the moderator of this section, Cătălin Ștefănescu, as well as the actors, directors, authors, and translators of these plays.
They include: Silviu Purcărete (“Somewhere in Palilula”), Jan Lauwers (“Goldfish”), Ivan Vyrypaev (“Delhi Dance”), Alexa Visarion (“Ana”), Wajdi Mouawad (“Incendies”), Neil LaBute (“Some Velvet Morning”), Pippo Delbono (“Amore e carne”, “Vangelo”), Radu Jude (“Aferim!”, “Scarred Hearts”), Olivier Py (“Mediteranées”), Klaus Maria Brandauer (“Mephisto”), Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota (“The Rhinoceros”), Yoshi Oida (“Have You Seen the Moon?”), Victor Rebengiuc (“Moromeții”), Tim Robbins (“The Shawshank Redemption”), Mikhail Baryshnikov (“White Nights”), Marcel Iureș (“The Phantom Father”), Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”), Eugenio Barba (“The Art of the Impossible”).
During the 2017 edition, in collaboration with the LBUS Department of Drama and Theatre Studies and The Market, an architecture workshop entitled “Simplicity is Very Sophisticated” was organized, coordinated by scenographer Jean-Guy Lecat.
As with the film and documentary section, certain performing arts artists (such as Roswitha Hecke, Tadeusz Kantor, Jerzy Grotowski, Doina Levintza, Dragoș Buhagiar, Lia Manțoc, Silviu Purcărete, Radu Afrim, Kazuyoshi Kushida, Nic Ularu) are also present through exhibitions of photography, set design elements and so on.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the festival and of the Centenary of modern Romania, Dan Perjovschi, the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre and FITS continued this collaboration through an artistic installation made of magnets.
The first figures to receive a star during the 20th edition (7 16 June 2013) were Ariane Mnouchkine, Declan Donnellan, Eugenio Barba, Silviu Purcărete, George Banu, Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII.
In the next editions (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019), they were followed by: Lev Dodin, Peter Brook, Peter Stein, Krystian Lupa, Gigi Căciuleanu, Radu Stanca, Martin Hochmeister, Eimuntas Nekrošius, Joël Pommerat, Kazuyoshi Kushida, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Neil LaBute, Tim Robbins, Alvis Hermanis, Christoph Marthaler, Yevgeny Mironov, Luk Perceval, Victor Rebengiuc, Thomas Ostermeier, Philippe Genty, Rimas Tuminas, Ohad Naharin, Vasile Șirli, Marcel Iureș, Robert Wilson, Peter Sellers, Hideki Noda, Wajdi Mouawad, Ioan Holender, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota, Maia Morgenstern, Michael Thalheimer, Pippo Delbono, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and Stan Lai.
This international endeavour began in 2005, thus creating a community of over 200 volunteers from countries such as: Bulgaria, Canada, South Korea, Iran, Japan, France, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, Turkey, and Hungary.
Since the 25th anniversary edition (8-17 June 2018), the FITS organizers thought it useful to set up a section dedicated to a forum on the needs of the community and of the built and urban environment in relation to the new requirements of the world of performing arts.
For three days, representatives of important performing arts international institutions (Joe Melillo – Brooklyn Academy of Arts, Andrzej Kosendiak – National Forum of Music, Annette Mees – Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Constantin Chiriac – FITS), as well as world-class architects (Nils Fischer – Zaha Hadid Architects, Andrew Bromberg – Aedas International, Maximilian and Daniel Zielinski – Foster and Partners, Jean-Guy Lecat – Studio JG Lecat, Kengo Kuma – Kuma and Associates, Louis Becker – Henning Larsen, Eric Bunge – nArchitects, Jason Flanagan – Flanagan Lawrence I Architects), discussed the theatre experience of the future from the perspective of architecture, programming, technology, and the evolution of the communities.
According to the figures related to the 2019 edition, FITS brought together about 3,300 artists from 73 countries, who presented over 500 events in 75 venues (conventional spaces, like performance halls, university halls, as well as unconventional settings, such as churches, book shops, fortified churches, former factories, high school, cafes, pubs, pedestrian areas, squares, parks, parking lots, and hotels), reaching an audience of over 68,000 spectators per day.
Because of the restrictions imposed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, FITS had to redesign its format altogether, to avoid having to make the choice shared by other big similar festivals, which had to suspend the editions planned for 2020.