Best Italian Theater and Dance of 2025

In 2025, Italian stages reflected on contemporary issues despite controversial ministerial funding decisions. Kepler-452's "A Place of Safety" documents migrant rescues in the Mediterranean, based on the artists' 2024 voyage aboard the Sea-Watch 5. Caroline Guiela Nguyen's "Lacrima" is a four-hour epic about a princess's wedding dress, intertwining haute couture, monarchy, and labor exploitation. Carolina Bianchi's "Brotherhood," second chapter of her Cadela Força trilogy, examines patriarchal pacts and masculinity, following her Silver Lion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Danza. Nasim Ahmadpour and Ali Asghar Dasht's "We Came to Dance" features seated performers recounting Iran's dance censorship, inspired by the 2022 Tehran government ban. Anagoor's "Polittico dell'infamia" explores artist responsibility through 16th-century works by Theodore de Bry and François Dubois. Antonio Latella and Federico Bellini's "Zorro" reimagines the superhero addressing social inequalities with rap and pop music. Laura Bevione reports.