IRA Festival debuts in Soverato, Calabria, with international performances

The first edition of IRA, a festival of performance, experimental theater, dance, and music, took place in Soverato, Calabria, from September 4 to 7, 2025. The festival aimed to foster creative dialogue in the local area while connecting with national and international productions. Performances came from Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Spain, and the UK, held at venues including the Teatro Comunale, the city amphitheater, the cinema, and religious institutes such as Maria Ausiliatrice and Don Bosco. The festival sold over 2,000 tickets. IRA was conceived by Settimio Pisano, who proposed the idea of a Regional Institute for the Arts (I.R.A.) to mediate between the regional government and the territory. Pietro Monteverdi, director of IRA and founder of the production company Oscenica (founded in 2018, based in Rome), returned to Soverato to lead the festival. Monteverdi noted that the festival attracted artists like Dalila Belaza and Benjamin Kahn, who are in residence studying local traditions of dance and song. The festival included Pitch & Drink sessions at Hotel San Domenico, evening performances at Circle Club featuring Eman and N.A.I.P., communal lunches, workshops in classical dance, and open labs for residents. Monteverdi emphasized the need to break the self-imposed narrative that Calabria lacks worthy initiatives, stating that the region has much to offer for artistic research.