Behind bars, where time often stands still and days resemble each other, there are those who choose to let the light in. It is that of the theatre, which lights up glances, returns voices, reopens imaginaries. It is the spirit that animates Crossed Destiniesthe national festival of theater in prison now in its eleventh edition, scheduled from 12 to 15 November Between Florence, Livorno and the island of Gorgona.
This year the theme is Visible citiesa title that evokes the possibility of seeing – behind the walls – the internal maps, desires and memories of those seeking redemption through the scene.
The initiative is promoted by National Coordination Theater in Prisontogether with Popular Art Theaterwith the support of Ministry of Culture and of Tuscany regionin accordance with the Department of Penitentiary Administration and the Department of Juvenile and Community Justice.
A theater that crosses borders
The review will open on November 12th in Florencein the Saloncino della Pergola, with the meeting “The meaning of theater in prison“. It will be an afternoon dedicated to the educational, civil and human value of the scene behind bars, with interventions by institutional representatives and experts such as Jean Trounstinepioneer of theater in women’s prisons in the United States, Bruno Mellanoformer guarantor of prisoners in Piedmont, e Claudio Sarzottisociologist and director of the Prison Memory Museum of Saluzzo.
The day will end with the musical performance Innocent escapesigned by the group I Music Cella group born behind the walls but now free to perform outside too: prisoners, agents and musicians together, united by the universal language of notes.
From the November 13ththe baton passes to Livornoa city that has welcomed the theater as a tool for reintegration for years. The morning opens with a round table on The prospects of theater in prisonwith the interventions of Vito Minoiapresident of the National Coordination, and teachers from various Italian universities.
Then space for the words and the scene. It will be staged in the Le Sughere prison Moby Dickadaptation signed by Lara Gallo And Francesca Ricci: the whale becomes a mirror of the fears and hopes of the prisoners, a symbol of a search for meaning and survival.
In the afternoon, the New Comedy Theatre host Righteous Blood – Insideinspired by The bar under the sea by Stefano Benni, born from the theater laboratory in the prison of Civitavecchia and directed by Ludovica Andò And Veronica Di Marcantonio. Here the sea becomes a metaphor for prison: those who enter cannot easily leave, but can tell stories, transform pain into words, and words into freedom.
The day ends with Wingsshow of Talibè Theater Company directed by Alessandro J. Bianchi. In an undefined place, perhaps a cell, perhaps a mind, perhaps a collective soul, the reflection on a humanity in search of a new center comes to life. Because theatre, even behind bars, never stops looking for the future.
La Gorgona, the island that speaks
The November 14ththe exhibition arrives in a symbolic place: the island of Gorgonathe only penal colony still active in Italy. Here, between sea and silence, the Popular Art Theater presents The invisible citydirected by Gianfranco Pedullà.
The text was born from a writing workshop conducted by Chiara Miglioriniwhich intertwined the words of the prisoners with suggestions taken from Italo Calvino and the arcana of the Tarot. It is a poetic and symbolic journey, where the island becomes a map of memory, identity and desire for transformation.
The afternoon continues with a meeting dedicated to The theater of the sea and with the presentation of two volumes that recount twenty years of experiences between art and punishment: Utopias in the middle Of Stefano Tea (Theater of the Winds) e Otherwise the prison remains a prison Of Ornella Rosato And Alessandro Toppi.
In the evening, at Artistic Center the Skyscraper of Livornothe company AlphaZtl brings to the stage Lady UPdance theater performance directed by Vito Alfarano with Francesca De Giorgia young dancer with Down syndrome, together with the inmates of the Brindisi prison. It is the story of a diva who goes on stage and, step by step, breaks down every stereotype: female, physical, social. A theater that does not represent, but reveals.
The video review closes the day Prison theater in motionwith five works from institutes in Lecce, Venice, Modena, Brescia and Rome Rebibbia: a journey through images through the many forms of rebirth.
Voices that become freedom
The last day, Saturday 15 Novembertakes the public back inside the Le Sughere prison, where Giallo Mare Minimal Teatro presents TestimonialsI tell in many voices about experiences born and raised behind the walls.
The projection follows Ariadne’s Threadvideo documentation of the laboratory Labyrinthscoordinated by Michalis Traitsis And Gianfranco Pedullàwhich explores the languages of theater in prison as a tool for knowledge and care.
In the afternoon, the second session of the video review Prison theater between dream and reality will offer seven new works: stories of suspended lives, desires, daily gestures that become dramaturgy.
Next to it, a training workshop organized by SHAKEa body recognized by the Ministry of Education, will open the reflection to operators and teachers who work every day in school and rehabilitation contexts.
Closing, at 21will be entrusted to the intense voice of the singer-songwriter Erica Mouwith a concert that will seal the entire event. A final symbolic act, between words and music, to remember that even behind bars life continues to seek its melody.
When theater becomes a bridge
Crossed Destinies it is not just a theatrical review, but a laboratory of humanity. Every show, every word said on stage, becomes a gesture of reconciliation: with oneself, with others, with society.
This year’s title – Visible cities – contains the profound meaning of the initiative: building bridges between inside and outside, making visible the communities that live behind the walls, but who find voice, dignity and hope through art.
In the words of one of the promoters, «theatre in prison is not a privilege, but a right to beauty, awareness, freedom».
And so, for four days, between Florence, Livorno and Gorgona, the visible cities will not only be those traced on the maps, but those that are born every time a prisoner gets on a stage and finally speaks his truth.
