ScenArte. I Volti del Teatro

The 31st edition of **ScenArte – International Urban Theatre Festival**, now bearing the new title **“The Faces of Theatre: Traditional Theatre – Urban Theatre – Street Theatre,”** conceived and directed by Emilio Genazzini and produced by the **La Capriola ETS – Abraxa Teatro Association**, with the support of the Lazio Region and the patronage of the Municipality of Rome 1 Centro, will return from **19 to 30 August 2026**. The programme will take place across the municipalities of the Tiber Valley—Nazzano Romano, Torrita Tiberina, Mandela, Licenza and Roccagiovine—as well as at Rome’s Teatro Marconi and the Giardino degli Aranci, a historic festival venue since 1994.

## A festival spanning territories, communities and theatrical genres

The programme includes the national premiere of an Urban Theatre production, together with eleven theatre performances, a Japanese drumming concert, a travelling performance on stilts combining music and theatre, four performance pieces from the Lazio Region and, at the heart of the event, a major international conference.

From **19 to 24 August**, the festival will animate the villages of the Tiber Valley with travelling performances capable of involving the entire population, transforming streets, squares, balconies and windows into spontaneous stages. From **26 to 30 August**, the programme will move to the Giardino degli Aranci, where performances of urban theatre, street theatre, music, dance-theatre and new Italian playwriting will alternate.

Participating companies include **Teatro Tascabile di Bergamo, TAC Teatro of Paris, Artenova, Kigaidaiko, IlNaufragarM’èDolce, TeatrAltro, Teatro Ebasko, Teatro Roget, CircoMare Teatro, La Bottega dei Comici, Teatro Origine** and **Ygramul Teatro**, as well as **Abraxa Teatro**, the festival’s promoter.

The central and distinctive event of the 2026 edition will be the international conference **“Thinking Like Fireflies: Urban Theatre and Street Theatre,”** taking place on **25 August** at Rome’s Teatro Marconi. It will be curated by Emilio Genazzini and Abraxa Teatro, with the academic coordination of **Eugenio Barba and Julia Varley**, historic figures in international theatre, and **Valentina Venturini**, full professor at Roma Tre University. The conference will bring together scholars, university lecturers and historic companies in the field—both Italian and international—for an in-depth discussion of the relationship between Street Theatre and Urban Theatre, a distinction conceived by Emilio Genazzini and staged for the first time in Italy by Abraxa Teatro.

Speakers will include **Eugenio Barba, Valentina Venturini, Raimondo Guarino** of Roma Tre University, **Alfonso Amendola** of the University of Salerno, **Filomena Manuela Ottaviani** of the University of Bologna, **Emilio Genazzini, Clelia Falletti** of Sapienza University of Rome, **Julia Varley, Chiara Crupi** of Sapienza University of Rome, and **Luca Ruzza** of Sapienza University of Rome, with coordination by Valentina Venturini.

Italian and international companies will present testimonies and short talks.

The day will conclude with the national preview performance of **“I Messaggeri” (“The Messengers”)** by Abraxa Teatro, followed by a celebration of the 90th birthday of **Eugenio Barba**, a master recognised worldwide.

From **19 to 24 August**, the small municipalities of Lazio will be brought to life by travelling performances capable of involving everyone, including those who do not often attend theatre. In the course of their everyday lives, people will be able to encounter theatre simply by looking out from their windows and balconies.

From **26 to 30 August**, the festival will move to the Giardino degli Aranci, where Abraxa Teatro has staged 30 editions of **“ScenArte: International Urban Theatre Festival.”** The designation **“International Urban Theatre Festival”** has remained unchanged since 1994, while the main title—**“ScenArte”** for approximately the past seven years—has evolved over time, reflecting the contemporary moods and sensations that a theatre festival can evoke.

The festival will present performances by **Teatro Tascabile di Bergamo**, one of Italy’s leading street-theatre companies, with **“Valse”** on 26 August at 11:00 p.m.

**Abraxa Teatro**, which pioneered the Urban Theatre genre in Italy, will present the travelling performance **“La Festa dei Colori” (“The Festival of Colours”)** in three municipalities: 19 August in Torrita Tiberina, 20 August in Mandela and 21 August in Nazzano Romano. It will also present a preview of the Urban Theatre production **“I Messaggeri” (“The Messengers”)** on 25 August at Teatro Marconi, followed by its national premiere on 28 August at the Giardino degli Aranci.

The company **Artenova**, an established ensemble of male and female actors rooted in the theatrical tradition, will present **“Di padre… ce n’è uno solo” (“There’s Only One Father…”)**, a work of contemporary Italian playwriting, on 26 August at the Giardino degli Aranci.

The programme will also feature **Kigaidaiko**, an important Italian exponent of Japanese percussion performances, on 29 August at the Giardino degli Aranci.

**IlNaufragarM’èDolce**, a historic Roman theatre company, will present **“Rivoluzionaria di professione” (“Professional Revolutionary”),** a performance about the life of Teresa Noce, featuring actress and singer Chiara Casarico, on 28 August at the Giardino degli Aranci.

**Teatro Ebasko**, an emerging street-theatre company from Calabria, will present **“Gea e Urano” (“Gaia and Uranus”)** on 23 August in Roccagiovine. The young emerging company **Teatro Roget** will present **“AzZione immediata” (“Immediate Action”)** on 24 August in Licenza.

The companies **La Bottega dei Comici, CircoMare Teatro, Teatro Origine** and **Ygramul Teatro** will take part in the dedicated section entitled **“Sguardi dalla Regione” (“Perspectives from the Region”),** creating short debut works—performative and site-specific—based on the stories, legends and monuments of the Lazio municipalities involved in the project. These works will be presented from **26 to 28 August** at the Giardino degli Aranci.

The Urban Theatre performances will be presented by **Abraxa** and **TAC Teatro**, a historic Parisian performance company dedicated to promoting culture and human values, respect and dignity—including issues of gender, political refugees and any other context in which freedom is violated—through collaboration with organisations and associations both nationally and internationally.
Web: www.abraxa.it/news/