Fabrizio Arcuri on Making Verona's Shakespeare Festival Truly Contemporary

Fabrizio Arcuri, founder of Short Theatre and former director of Teatro della Tosse and CSS Friuli Venezia Giulia, is the new artistic director of the 78th edition of Estate Teatrale Veronese, running from June 25 to September 18, 2026. In an interview, Arcuri discusses his vision to modernize Italy's longest-running festival while respecting its Shakespearean tradition. He aims to make the festival more international and to take performances beyond the Teatro Romano into the streets of Verona, which receives 10,000–15,000 tourists daily. Arcuri criticizes Italian theater for losing its popular appeal by demanding prior knowledge from audiences. He programs works that treat Shakespeare as living material: Stefano Massini rewrites Romeo and Juliet through an Israeli-Palestinian lens; Lella Costa stages Othello focusing on immigration and femicide; philosopher Massimo Cacciari performs a hybrid lecture-performance on King Lear. Arcuri also includes young artists from Premi Scenario and Nuove Orbite, though he notes structural issues in Italy prevent festivals alone from solving youth inclusion. He emphasizes creating trans-generational, immediately accessible content without requiring specialized literacy.