FRIGID New York's Days of the Dead Festival Runs Through Nov. 1 at Under St. Marks, East Village, NYC

FRIGID New York's Days of the Dead Festival began on October 16 and runs through November 1, 2026, at Under St. Marks Theater, a basement black box on St. Marks Place in the East Village. It is a program of independent theatre and performance inspired by the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos, and the venue's page notes it was featured in Time Out's roundup of the best Halloween theater.

The festival is curated by Something from Abroad, FRIGID's resident company. The organizers explain the holiday as a time when the dead return to earth to spend time with their families and enjoy their favorite things, and they say the mood can be cheerful, sad, nostalgic, ritualistic and mysterious. Shows take up death and the afterlife, and there are Halloween-themed plays too. Everyone is welcome regardless of cultural background or religious belief.

The lineup is broad. It includes a "Witching Hour" triple-feature, a cabaret-style Día de Muertos show and a piece centered on Edgar Allan Poe. Elisha Mudly's original solo show about death opened the festival. Other titles include Vanessa Codorniu's "Perra Puta Loca Bruja" and "Pizza Party" by Mario Mendoza and Sergio Cavero, which plays October 31 at 7 pm and November 1 at 3 pm. FRIGID said on Instagram that its second week was a ten-show week with burlesque, new plays and one-person shows.

Most tickets cost $7–25, or are pay-what-you-can with a $7 minimum. Online purchases add a $2.50 transaction fee. Tickets at the door, by cash or card, carry no fee, but the house holds only 45 people and a show can sell out, so FRIGID strongly recommends buying in advance. Seating is general admission, a mix of cushioned theatre chairs and free-standing plastic chairs.

The theatre is reached only by stairs and has no lobby. A small bar is open for most evening performances after 5 pm, serving beer, cider, wine, spiked seltzer, soda and water; it is not a full-service bar. Most shows allow late seating, but it is not guaranteed. Ten minutes after the start time, no staff member may be at the door, and late arrival does not qualify for a refund.

Applications for the festival open each July or August, and the festival runs in late October and early November.