POLIS Theatre Festival 2026. A Nordic Focus for the ninth edition, “klpteatro.it”, May 30 2026

https://www.klpteatro.it/polis-teatro-festival-2026-reportage

“Identity – whether to be sought or redefined – censorship, female pleasure and the political nature of the body, loneliness, nostalgia and community. The ninth edition of POLIS Theatre Festival, under the artistic direction of Davide Sacco and Agata Tomšič of ErosAntEros, centred on these themes – though not exclusively – and, as usual, offered a valuable opportunity for discussion through a diverse programme in early May.

[…] In the work of filmmaker and journalist Karolis Kaupinis (produced by Operomanija), nostalgia for the past is replaced by ironic interpretations of the sounds of the 1980s and 1990s, which set the pace and accompany the visual narrative: questions that are sometimes nonsensical, others asked repeatedly, sentimental interludes and fragments of history make up a rich collage that opens windows onto the evolving identity of a young, multifaceted country, leaving the viewer with a sense of curiosity and connection.

Yet another identity to be sought, constructed and reclaimed through fragments of life – real or imagined – in Je suisse (or not) by Camilla Parini of the Treppenwitz Collective, an intimate and intensely powerful performance for two spectators at a time. The artist, dressed in a polar bear costume – the very same figure, locked in a tender embrace with activist Greta Thunberg, which served as the festival’s symbolic image in Gianluca Costantini’s drawing – gently welcomes the audience and, together with them, explores the concepts of family, sense of belonging and memory […].

Tivoli, meanwhile, comes from Estonia and marks the national premiere of the latest creative project by the Estonian artist Siim Toniste, a performer and dancer, […] who places great value on collaboration and collective creation. This is precisely the kind of experience the audience in Ravenna were invited to take part in, sharing with Toniste a time of play, discovery and the exchange of experiences within the spaces of the MAR […].

The voice—subtle, intense, harsh—opens up to a multitude of inflections, in a play of whispers and shouts, at the heart of Materiale per Medea by Agata Tomšič. The actress, author and director—one of the two driving forces behind ErosAntEros—continues her exploration of voice and sound by working with a challenging, vivid, radical text by Heiner Müller, and, together with the Slovenian composer and sound designer Matevz Kolenc, constructs a physical-vocal score that offers no respite, screaming out a condemnation of marginalisation, exclusion and betrayal […].

Gathered around a lavishly laid table, before tucking into some delicious cappelletti with meat sauce prepared by volunteers from the Teatro Socjale, the stage was set for the performance Asja Lacis, the woman who brings history to life, […] written and directed by Cristiana Minasi, who shares the stage with Irida Gjergji.

A few words about Ulla by Finnish playwright Eeva Turunen, directed by Eugenio Sideri and Alice Giroldini of MaMiMò, in collaboration with PAV / Fabulamundi Playwriting Europe, is an intense monologue that explores loneliness and the inability to face reality. […] Beneath the minutiae of daily life, amidst real or imagined phone calls and phobias that eventually turn into obsessions, we are confronted with the human desire for love and affection that animates every existence.

With its cinematic flair, Something Real—a play by the Estonian playwright Martin Algus, staged by Studio Doiz—is brought to life by the dynamic and engaging performances of the talented Lorenzo Carpinelli and Alessandro Renda, directed by Iacopo Gardelli, in collaboration with the Estonian Theatre Agency: a story that brings together two seemingly opposite lives which, whilst finding points of contact between them, both end up disintegrating under the blows of a life on the margins […]”.