Under the Radar Festival 2021

This popular and highly anticipated festival of The Public’s winter season will include artists from across the US and around the world, including Chile, Iran, and the UK. Curated by UTR Festival Director Mark Russell, this year’s free Under the Radar Festival will feature a robust lineup of digital livestream and streaming on-demand performances, as well as the return of the Under the Radar Symposium: A Creative Summit.

Under the Radar 2021 will feature an exciting mix of innovative artists including 600 HIGHWAYMEN, Javaad Alipoor, Inua Ellams, Trinidad González, Alicia Hall Moran, Piehole, and Whitney White and Peter Mark Kendall.

“The artists in this year’s Under the Radar Festival answer the unprecedented challenges of this time with fearlessness and heart,” shared Under the Radar Festival Director Mark Russell. “We have created a festival where presence is necessary—the elusive communal magic that is theater will come through even if you are facing a screen, on the phone, or in your room. These are unique productions, some of them made just for the festival. Immediate, international, and vibrant, the 2021 Under the Radar artists point to a future theater that embraces innovation and transformation.”

Get details on the complete lineup and how to watch.

Over the last 17 years, The Public’s Under the Radar Festival has grown into a landmark of the New York City theater season and is a vital part of The Public’s mission, providing a high-visibility platform to support artists from diverse backgrounds who are redefining the act of making theater. Widely recognized as a premier launching pad for new and cutting-edge performance from the US and abroad, UTR has presented works by such respected artists as Elevator Repair Service, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Tania El Khoury, Belarus Free Theatre, Guillermo Calderón, Toshi Reagon, Taylor Mac, and Daniel Fish. These artists provide a snapshot of contemporary theater: richly distinct in terms of perspectives, aesthetics, and social practice, and pointing to the future of the art form.

With theaters closed and in-person programming on pause, The Public Theater continues to navigate theimmense challenges created by the pandemic, including an operating budget that has contracted significantly, substantial furloughs among full-time staff, and a lack of employment opportunities to offer the freelance artistic community. The Public continues to rely on its community of loyal supporters who stand alongside the organization as it upholds its mission during this uncertain time. With the generous contributions of supporters as the only current source of revenue, The Public continues to reimagine theater for the digital space, support a range of artistic voices in making new work, and share it with a growing global audience.