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| Teatro dei Piccoli | |
|---|---|
| Name | Teatro dei Piccoli |
| Native name | Teatro dei Piccoli |
| Location | Turin, Italy |
| Opened | 1895 |
| Capacity | 300 |
| Type | Children's theatre |
Teatro dei Piccoli is a historic children's theatre located in Turin, Italy. Founded in the late 19th century, it became a focal point for puppetry, marionette, and early childhood performance within the Piedmont region and across Europe. The theatre has intersected with major cultural currents connected to Commedia dell'arte, Piedmont, Italy, Paris, London, Vienna, and Berlin and has hosted artists and companies linked to Italy's modernist, avant-garde, and folk traditions.
The theatre's origins trace to initiatives associated with figures such as Carlo Collodi, Giuseppe Verdi, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Eduardo De Filippo, Luigi Pirandello, and institutions like the Accademia Albertina, the Conservatorio di Torino, and the Museo del Risorgimento. Early programming reflected influences from Commedia dell'arte, Opera dei Pupi, Punch and Judy, and touring troupes from Czech Republic, Germany, France, and Spain. During the interwar period Teatro dei Piccoli engaged with networks connected to Futurism, D'Annunzio's Cercle, and municipal patrons including the City of Turin and the Kingdom of Italy. In the postwar era, collaborations with the Venice Biennale, Edinburgh Festival, Salzburg Festival, La Scala, Piccolo Teatro di Milano, and companies such as Teatro Stabile Torino and Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico expanded its profile. Cultural exchanges involved presenters and artists from Brecht, Bertolt Brecht, Anna Magnani, Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica, and touring ensembles like Complicité and Bread and Puppet Theater.
The building reflects 19th-century theatrical typologies influenced by architects and designers associated with Ettore Fagiuoli, Guiseppe Sommaruga, Carlo Mollino, and movements linked to Art Nouveau, Liberty style, and Rationalism. The interior staging, fly tower, and auditorium drew comparisons with venues such as Teatro Regio (Turin), Teatro Olimpico, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Massimo, and Teatro La Fenice. Decorative schemes referenced artisans from Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT, Museo Egizio, and workshops linked to Giovanni Boldini and Giacomo Balla. Technical installations have been upgraded over time with lighting designers and engineers from firms collaborating on productions at Royal Opera House, Metropolitan Opera, Civic Theatre of Florence, and festival stages at Festival d'Avignon and Avignon Opera.
Repertoire at the theatre spans puppet plays, marionette adaptations, musical storytelling, and experimental pieces inspired by works of Carlo Collodi, Hans Christian Andersen, Brothers Grimm, Lewis Carroll, Edmund Rostand, Charles Perrault, Italo Calvino, and Gianni Rodari. The season has included commissions from contemporary playwrights and composers associated with Dario Fo, Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Eugene O'Neill, Jean Genet, Tom Stoppard, and collaborations with choreographers and companies like Pina Bausch, Maurice Béjart, Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp, Cirque du Soleil, and Compagnie Philippe Genty. Regular partnerships with institutions such as the Dipartimento di Teatro, Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi (Milan), University of Turin, Centro Nazionale di Drammaturgia, and international festivals ensured a diverse season integrating traditional narratives and contemporary dramaturgy.
Educational programming has been coordinated with schools and organizations including University of Turin, Politecnico di Torino, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo, UNICEF, UNESCO, and European Commission cultural initiatives. Workshops and residency exchanges have included partnerships with Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre (UK), Comédie-Française, Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, and outreach with civic partners like Museo Nazionale del Cinema, Turin Olympic Park, and local municipalities. Training programs invited master teachers connected to Jacques Lecoq, Suzanne Bing, Meisner technique, Stanislavski system, Vsevolod Meyerhold, and practitioners from PuppetArt and Marionette Centre traditions.
Landmark productions featured directors, designers, and performers linked to Eugenio Barba, Peter Brook, Richard Eyre, Adrian Noble, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Miriam Makeba, Ennio Morricone, Luciano Pavarotti, Cecilia Bartoli, Romeo Castellucci, Fabrizio De André, and companies such as Commedia dell'Arte Company, La Fura dels Baus, and Russian State Puppet Theatre. Guest artists have included puppeteers and directors from Czech Marionette Theatre, Garnet Ravin, Yumiko Tanaka, Benedetto Alfieri (architect), and collaborative projects with ensembles connected to Walter Benjamin-era scholars, curators from Tate Modern, and dramaturgs from Royal Court Theatre.
Administration historically involved civic entities like the City of Turin, financial patrons such as Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT, private donors linked to families comparable to Agnelli family, and sponsorships from corporations operating in sectors represented by FIAT, Pirelli, Intesa Sanpaolo, and cultural grantors including European Cultural Foundation, Creative Europe, Fondazione Cariplo, and Fondazione Teatro Ragazzi e Giovani Onlus. Management models referenced governance practiced at Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Teatro Stabile di Torino, Fondazione Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and collaborative frameworks with Ministry of Culture (Italy) and international partners such as British Council, Goethe-Institut, Institut Français, Die Kulturstiftung des Bundes, and Asia-Europe Foundation.
Critical reception engaged critics and scholars from journals and institutions such as Il Sole 24 Ore, Corriere della Sera, La Stampa, The Guardian, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, New York Times, Opera News, The Stage, and academic commentary from faculties within University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Sorbonne University, Freie Universität Berlin, and Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. The theatre has influenced practices in children's theatre noted at conferences like ASSITEJ International, International Puppetry Festival, Biennale Danza, and curricula at conservatories and drama schools across Europe, North America, and Asia. Its legacy appears in contemporary initiatives funded by European Union cultural programs and commemorated in exhibitions at Museo del Cinema (Turin), Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano, and archives held by Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino.
Category:Theatres in Turin