The Sicilian city of Ragusa is gearing up for a 10-day festival that celebrates a world that usual remains literally behind the scenes - that of backstage theatre workers.
The festival will embrace the whole city of Ragusa, turning it into an 'open workshop' with events in theatres, on streets and squares and at off-the-beaten track locations that usually remain hidden from the wider world.
The aim is to shine the spotlight on backstage theatre jobs and crafts via exhibitions, workshops, performances, Q&A sessions and debates.
Ragusa's Teatro Donnafugata, one of the smallest theatres in Europe with just 100 seats, will pay tribute to English actor and set designer Edward Gordon Craig.
Craig's pioneering work made a big mark in the theatre world between the early 20th century and the 1960s.
The festival also celebrates the 100th anniversary from the publication of "Puppets and Poets" written by Craig in February 1921.
The event is directed by sisters Vicky and Costanza Di Quattro, both curators of the "Teatro Donnafugata", with the advice of Italian-British artist, academic and curator Andrea Cusumano. The festival's guests include theatre director Harvey Grossman, who was Gordon Craig's assistant and pupil.
"After a challenging 2020 due to the pandemic, we wanted to highlight the importance of the entertainment industry and its professionals," said Vicky Di Quattro.
"The best way to focus on this was to launch an 'open workshop' like the one Craig led 100 years ago. "With its alleys, churches, yards and ancient buildings, Ragusa makes a perfect set to draw new connections among theatre professionals and get the audience acquainted with the many backstage theatre jobs and the way they make live entertainment different and unique each time.
"For the first time, the creative process will become the actual show".
The first 'Ragusa behind the Curtain: Festival of the backstage theatre workers' takes place from October 1 to 10.
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