Every year, one of my drawings becomes the official image of the festival, and I’m truly happy about that. The theme of this edition is the Iberian Peninsula, and my illustration is a tribute to the painter Francisco Goya.
In a world increasingly torn apart by conflict and imperialistic ambitions—where the ideas of “universal” and “international” are losing their positive connotations—Gianluca Costantini’s reference to Francisco Goya, created to honor the Iberian Focus at the heart of POLIS Teatro Festival 2025, inevitably brings to mind another of the Spanish painter’s works, whose title could not be more timely: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. And while the witches in our festival poster seem to mock those who have rejected reason, this year’s edition continues to build bridges between past and future through the languages of contemporary performing arts, to keep reflecting on the present and imagining new possible worlds—together with artists, audiences, scholars, journalists, and international professionals.
Pursuing the utopia that a world without borders is still possible—as envisioned by Miguel Torga, the Portuguese writer quoted at the opening of this edition—we also recall that this new focus meaningfully arrives on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Spain and Portugal’s accession to the European Community. Many of the hosted events will serve as platforms for rethinking Europe and the world today.
This 8th edition opens with an exciting new feature: a section entirely dedicated to the Italian under-35 scene with free admission, taking place on May 2–3 at the Artificerie Almagià, thanks to support from the Italian Ministry of Culture and SIAE as part of the “Per Chi Crea” program.
POLIS NEON—from the Greek meaning “the city of youth”—plays with the double meaning of neon: handing over the city to young people and “shedding light” on the performative research of four young groups. These companies bring to Ravenna four diverse performances, giving voice to a generation often overlooked, and difficult to define even by critics and scholars.
From May 6 to 11, the festival reaches its core, starting, as is tradition, with emerging artists selected by Ravenna’s Visionari, and offering another gift to the audience: throughout the Iberian Focus, visitors can experience Celestial Bodies, a soundwalk by El Conde de Torrefiel designed to reflect on what happens after our journey through the world—hosted free of charge in the evocative setting of Ravenna’s monumental cemetery.
Among the highlights of the Iberian Peninsula’s international performing arts scene, two documentary theater companies—Hotel Europa and Hermanas Picohueso—take turns on stage at Teatro Rasi, reflecting on the dictatorships and colonial pasts of their countries through a multidisciplinary and ironic lens. Rui Pina Coelho, playwright of the historic TEP – Teatro Experimental do Porto and university professor, presents a performance-lecture on the artistic and political power of utopia. At Artificerie Almagià, the immersive-interactive theater experience by La Mecànica is presented, using the Kalliópê app developed by the legendary La Fura dels Baus, in a performance for both teenagers and adults created in collaboration with students from Ravenna’s art high school.
At Teatro Socjale in Piangipane, the traditional Sunday lunch event ventures into the worlds of cabaret and Copla through the queer approach of Alejandro Postigo. At the MAR – Ravenna Art Museum, a site-specific, itinerant performance features the Portuguese group Os Possessos in a collaboration with Ravenna’s Spazio A, part of a festival initiative to encourage international cooperation among young artists. Also aimed at fostering international exchange and promoting new European playwriting, two mise en espace productions have been commissioned thanks to a new collaboration with PAV/Fabulamundi New Voices, featuring playwrights Joan Yago and Joana Bértholo, performed by Nerval Teatro and Teatro Onnivoro.
Among Italian companies, we highlight the debut of AriaTeatro with a play by acclaimed Catalan playwright Marta Buchaca, and another performance from the emerging scene, presented through the national In-Box network, by Annachiara Vispi—both at Teatro Rasi. continue
More than 35 events—including shows, roundtables with artists, scholars, and international professionals—confirm the festival’s distinctive European artistic vision. POLIS brings to the theater not only hundreds of under-30s but also people who, for economic or social reasons, might not otherwise attend. The program also includes educational activities and participatory projects that extend throughout the year, thanks to valuable collaborations with the local community.
And it doesn’t end here. The festival will return on September 26–27 for a third major event, marking the 15th anniversary of ErosAntEros: a special occasion featuring the Ravenna premiere of our two new productions, made possible by support from the Ministry of Culture’s Special Projects – Theater 2025. This celebration will also include discussions with scholars, journalists, professionals, and friends who have supported our journey over the years.
