A manifesto of the impossible, which gives form and substance to the invisible, reflecting on the combination of absence and presence.

One step away from our autumn edition, the word “end” has come. In compliance with the regulations contained in the DPCM of 24.10.2020, we have cancelled 14 shows and projects.

With the aim of supporting the work of artists and in order to cope with the difficulties caused by this latest cancellation for the entire performing arts sector, the Festival has, however, decided to reformulate the autumn edition once again in an online and digital format.

At the centre of the reflection was the dichotomy absence/presence, which led to two online moments. The first was published on the Festival’s social media channels in the days between 27 and 31 October: Il Festival che non c’è was an exercise in digital imagination, a narration through shots of closed and empty spaces, of the work of all the people involved in the realisation of the Festival. The second will be online on the evenings of Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 December: Lo spettacolo che non c’è (The show that isn’t there), a re-programming in video format of the artists who should have been protagonists of the autumn edition, but not of their entire works. Rather, it will be an invitation to imagine, thanks to narration and the use of certain elements of the works. The video is directed by Giulia Lenzi.

Artistic director Carla Esperanza Tommasini explains: “Lo spettacolo che non c’è will be our manifesto of the impossible and of resistance. We start from absence: from the absence of the Festival as a cultural space, of research, of work and of artistic support and from the absence of the people: the artists, the audience and the shows. We have asked the artists to get back into the game,” she continues, “by rethinking the essence of their performances, giving them a new form for online fruition. We thought of experimenting with the digital dimension, which has impacted our daily lives with great force, inviting the artists to present their artistic projects on video“.