Renewing itself, changing its skin, while keeping clear some of the peculiarities that over the years have made it an essential event for new dramaturgy, the focal point of the Italian Festival season, even more important because it takes place in the south, in Calabria, in the awareness that the art can and must not only dialogue with the territory but transform it. Because that's what he does now from XXIV editions, Spring of Theatres.
«We have chosen to question ourselves, to investigate a different way of acting and understanding our role and our function – they explain Saverio La Ruina, Dario De Luca and Settimio Pisano, artistic directors of the Festival, souls of the Scena Verticale company – Primavera dei Teatri is not just an event: it is a catalyst for change for the territory and the community, a bet on the transformative power of art.”
It will be a long Spring full of events which, from May 23rd to June 2nd, with 55 events between theatre, dance, music, performances, workshops, residencies and exhibitions, will liven up Castrovillari of national and international artists, the public, critics and professionals.
«The main novelty this year is PRIMA – announce the artistic directors – an international platform experiment which was created with the aim of contributing to the creative path of young artists working in the field of dance and performance. Over the course of five days you will be able to witness some creations still in progress, created also thanks to the residencies offered by the festival and grouped in the Open Studios section and the completed works of national and international artists within the Programming section. At the same time we have strengthened the usual soul of Primavera, with the focus on new dramaturgy and a program that invests heavily in the new generation of authors dealing with the complexity and critical issues of contemporary society. The project for this edition is the result of a complex and articulated curatorial work, made up of visions, studies, comparisons around Europe, to give a different meaning and depth to the rediscovered multidisciplinary identity of the festival”.
Many pieces and many voices to compose a complex and multifaceted program. Naturally, as is now customary for the Festival, there will be many previews and premieres, projects that choose the attentive and participatory atmosphere of Spring to meet the public, also present as always the demands of the complex times we are going through and those of a South who chooses the theater to tell and tell about himself.
The festival will therefore open from 23 to 27 May with the PRIMA section, and the protagonists of the residencies will be Annamaria Ajmone, Giovanfrancesco Giannini, Danila Gambettola, Maria Luigia Gioffrè, Leonardo Schifino, Mauro Lamanna, Dario Rea – Maher Msaddek, while in the Artist Programming section national and international, with many national premieres, will present their projects: Dalila Belaza, Maria Hassabi, CharaKotsali, Roberta Racis, Marco da Silva Ferreira, Elena Antoniu, ArkadiZaides, PanzettiTicconi, Chiara Bersani, Mauro Lamanna – Aguilera Giustiniano, already appreciated in a past edition of the festival.
The usual Primavera dei Teatri program will begin on May 28th. The first day (28 May) will feature Dino Lopardo with «Affogo» and the Teatro Studio Krypton with «Ismene – Family Affairs». On May 29th we continue with Tindaro Granata, from Messina from Tindari, actor, author and director who proposes «I would like a voice», and then two world premieres: Antimo Casertano in «Mare di rust (the tale of Ilva)» and Elvira Scorza with «It's all Ugo's fault»; on May 30th Accademia Perduta offers the show «Gramsci Gay»; and then two world premieres: Caroline Baglioni with «Play» and Davide Iodice with «Pinocchio/Che cos'è una persona». The festival continues on May 31st with Fabio Pisano who will present the show «Spezzata. Rhapsody (Per Intercessione del Silenzio)” for the first time, Giulia Scotti will present “What is not there” in the national preview, while “The four desires of Santu Martinu” will be the artistic proposal of Dario De Luca who continues the path of discovery and reworking of traditional stories.
On Saturday 1st June, among the world premieres, the Dammacco/Balivo Company will present «La Morte or Sunday Lunch», Pier Lorenzo Pisano will bring to the stage «Totale», while «Zitto Peter» will be the proposal of Fettarappa/Guerrieri. Three shows will conclude the festival: Kepler 452 with «Album», Marco Sgrosso with «A strokes d'axe», Tommaso Urselli / Alberto Oliva / Claudio Facchinelli with «The errant revolutionary». And to complete the busy program, the «Oltre» section, i.e. meetings, workshops, book presentations, including «Cronicario» with Dario Tomasello, The distribution of live shows, a curation journey with Elena Lamberti, Cinema and Theatre: Transforming the regional cultural landscape, curated by the Calabria Film Commission Foundation, exhibitions, one of which is dedicated to the theater of Saverio La Ruina through the gaze of Tommaso Le Pera and also debates, concerts and DJ sets. Among others, the program includes a performance with Cecilia Foti, singer and actress from Messina of the vocal group Glorius4, and Gianfranco De Franco.
The festival collaborates with numerous international partners and operates in co-production with the main Italian cultural institutions, is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Calabria Region, Calabria Straordinaria, Fondazione Carical, Nuovi Mecenati, Onassis Stegi, with the patronage of the Municipality of Castrovillari.