Downtown Urban Arts Festival 2026

About

The Downtown Urban Arts Festival (DUAF), now in its 24th season, will present the works of 19 playwrights, including those by Artistic Director Reg E. Gaines, Kevin Powell, and Arturo Luíz Soria when the festival returns May 29-June 20 at Joe’s Pub and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. In 2001, the theater program at DUAF was founded with the purpose to build a repertoire of new American theatre that echoes the true spirit of urban life and speaks to a whole new generation whose lives defy categorizing along conventional lines. That purpose has been realized, as 232 writers have created and refined their work for the stage.

Shows in this Festival

The White Whale Journal

May 29 – May 30

Four; Interwoven

Jun 3 – Jun 3

Let Mezaluca Buy Your Car

Jun 3 – Jun 3

Amendable

Jun 4 – Jun 4

Fried Live Skin

Jun 4 – Jun 4

Under the Influence

Jun 5 – Jun 6

40 Seconds

Jun 10 – Jun 10

Agon

Jun 10 – Jun 10

A Lesson in Captivity

Jun 11 – Jun 11

Gin & Milk

Jun 11 – Jun 11

The Trial of Lucy Gunns

Jun 12 – Jun 12

Black Commie Bitch

Jun 12 – Jun 12

Desert Flowers

Jun 13 – Jun 13

The Deep Play

Jun 13 – Jun 13

Whiskey, Hope, and the Climate Clock

Jun 17 – Jun 17

Sing Truth to Power

Jun 17 – Jun 17

Lo Siento, Mi Español Es Tremendo Mal

Jun 18 – Jun 18

An Audit at the Funeral

Jun 18 – Jun 18

My Father Could Not Read or Write

Jun 19 – Jun 20