Beiruting News

The Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut, under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy in Beirut, presents, as part of the 25th Week of the Italian Language in the World, the first performance in the Arab world of New Italian Stage Worldwide, a project by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Riccione Teatro, scheduled for 14 October at 8:00 p.m. at the Gulbenkian Theatre in Beirut.
Dedicated this year to the theme “Italophonia: Language Beyond Borders”, the Week offers a journey through the Italian language as a space for encounter and transformation. New Italian Stage Worldwide fully embodies this spirit, bringing to Beirut the vitality of contemporary Italian playwriting and intertwining it with the creative energy of the Lebanese theatrical scene.
Born from the Riccione Prize – Italy’s oldest award for dramatic writing – New Italian Stage Worldwide brings together six young Italian playwrights – Fulvia Cipollari, Giulia Trivero, Eliana Rotella, Denise Diaz, Alessandro Paschitto and Jacopo Giacomoni – representing a vibrant and diverse panorama of Italy’s emerging theatrical voices.
Ranging from memory to the fragility of relationships, from family dynamics to the crisis of communication, these texts explore the human condition of our time through multiple expressive forms, with particular attention to bonds and connections in the post-pandemic era. Each work, approximately fifteen minutes in length, privileges the power of language and allows for remarkable scenic freedom.
The Beirut stage marks an absolute first for the Arab world: the plays have been translated into Arabic, specifically the Lebanese dialect, to foster a deeper cultural and linguistic resonance with the local audience.
For the first time, moreover, the productions are entrusted to Lebanese women directors – both established figures and new voices in contemporary theatre. This is a significant gesture of openness and cultural collaboration, and also a recognition of the central role that women’s theatre plays today in Lebanon: an engagé, courageous theatre, capable of addressing crucial themes and giving voice to new, often unheard perspectives.
Programme
• Filomela by Fulvia Cipollari – Directed by Hanan Aj Ali – With Rita Hayek and Rodney El Haddad
• Il tempo è slogato by Jacopo Giacomoni – Directed by Aliya Khalidi – With Reefat Torbay and Tony Farah
• Tappeto rosso by Giulia Trivero – Directed by Michelle Zalloua – With Jana Abi Ghosn, Pamela El Hachem, Aly Harkous
• Gateway by Eliana Rotella – Directed by Dana Mikhail – With Danielle Davie, Wesam Dallati, 
Alongside the directors, distinguished Lebanese actors and actresses – among them Rita Hayek and Reefat Torbay – contribute to making the evening a high-profile artistic and cultural event.
The encounter between Italy’s new dramaturgy and Lebanese women’s direction gives rise to a unique dialogue between two artistic worlds, revealing how theatre can become a place of translation, encounter and mutual transformation – a space where the Italian language continues to live, to reinvent itself, and to be shared beyond borders.
Information
Gulbenkian Theatre – Beirut
14 October 2025, 8:00 p.m.
Event organised by the Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut
as part of the 25th Week of the Italian Language in the World
A project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Riccione Teatro