Napoli Teatro Festival 2024 in Naples and Pompeii

It all began in 2006 with a project announcement published by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. The idea was to establish an International theatre festival that could compare with European models. A range of Italian cities with well-developed theatre tradition were nominated as candidates. Milan, Venice or Genoa were among them, but the city of Naples was chosen as the winner.

Festival Highlights

Founded in 2008, the Festival has plenty of international content thanks to the cooperation with theatres from many countries. The first edition counted over 2000 artists from 17 countries. The program features plays, exhibitions and a variety of artistic performances. It also pays a great attention to contemporary dance.

Venues

The Napoli Teatro Festival Italia is spread all over the city of Naples. Traditional venues include Bellini Theatre, San Carlo Theatre, Mercadante – Teatro Stabile of Naples, and other local theatres. Occasionally, plays are staged at quite unconventional places around town, to the surprise of festival-goers. Among these extraordinary locations are Castel Sant’Elmo, the Darsena Acton, the Bourbon Hospice for the Poor, the Naples Undergrounds, the roof of the Arts Academy, as well as churches and various historical monuments.

Performance venues for this year's festival include Teatro Mercadante, Teatro Sannazaro, Teatro Nuovo, and the Teatro di Corte at the Royal Palace of Naples. New to the lineup this year is the Reggia di Portici.

2024 Edition

For the 2024 edition of the Campania Teatro Festival, Rove.me reached out to the organizers for the dates. They explained that delays in announcing the festival dates were due to funding issues, which impacted their planning. With the situation now resolved, the organizers will soon announce the dates for the seventeenth edition of the festival. We will update this text with the accurate dates as soon as the organizers provide them.

UPD: Following the announcement of this year's festival dates, visitors should note that the event will take place later than usual. The 2024 edition, themed “Fight for Freedom,” is set to run from September 21 to mid-December 2024. This year’s lineup will feature 40 shows, including eight international performances, with a total of 116 events, such as concerts, workshops, and special projects.

Program

Naples will host several prominent figures from the international theatre scene, including Bob Wilson, Jan Fabre, Euripides Laskaridis, Nat Randall and Anna Breckon, Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim, Luciano Rosso, and Antonio Latella. The festival kicks off on September 21 with "La prima luce di Neruda," a theatrical adaptation of Ruggero Cappuccio’s novel, at Teatro Mercadante, performed by Teatro dell’Elfo from Milan and directed by César Brie. Additionally, several performances are scheduled as part of the "Campania Libri Festival – la fiera dell’editore," taking place at Palazzo Reale from October 4 to 6, 2024. Tickets will be available soon.