SAVE THE DATE – GRAND OPENING TEATRO GARIBALDI
13–15 NOVEMBER 2026
Teatro Garibaldi comes back to life.
Inaugurated by Giuseppe Garibaldi himself in 1862, the theater in Piazza Magione hosted popular comedies and, in the post-war period, film screenings. After years of abandonment and decay, it was revived in the 1990s thanks to a legendary era led by Carlo Cecchi and Matteo Bavera, transforming it into a hub of bold experimentation and artistic vitality—a landmark for international theater.
In 2012, it was not the public institutions that brought the lights back on, but rather a group of artists, activists, and performing arts workers. For eighteen months—as part of a wave of occupations that swept through Italian theaters during those years, from the Valle in Rome to the Coppola in Catania—they rescued the Garibaldi from oblivion, returning it to the city as a “common good”—a self-managed, political space.
Since then, its existence has been intermittent: in 2018, it served as the headquarters for the Manifesta 12 biennial, and between 2020 and 2025, a series of festivals, international events, and assemblies marked its periodic returns—bright intervals within a state of unresolved anticipation—leading up to today’s reopening.
On 13 November 2026, a new chapter begins.
Under the direction of Fondazione Studio Rizoma, Teatro Garibaldi returns as a permanent space for cultural production, open to the city and to international dialogue. A theatre not only for performances, but also for research, education, exchange and debate: a space where artists, citizens, institutions and communities can meet and work together to create new forms of culture.
Starting from Palermo, Garibaldi looks towards the Mediterranean and beyond, building connections between Europe and Africa, between cultures and territories, between memory and the future.
The Grand Opening will launch this new chapter with a continuous programme running from 13 November through December 2026. A month of programming will accompany the reopening of the theatre through exhibitions, performances, concerts, screenings, talks and moments of debate, transforming Garibaldi into a space open to the city and to international dialogue.
The opening night on 13 November will feature the world premiere of Le Principesse, the new work by Olga Bach, directed by Ersan Mondtag, one of the most original voices on the European theatre scene. Drawing on the memory of Teatro Garibaldi and the Shakespearean tradition, the work explores the relationship between power, ambition and responsibility in the present.
The Grand Opening will continue in the following weeks with a programme dedicated to contemporary culture and dialogue among artists, cultural organisations, institutions and independent initiatives from across Europe and the Mediterranean.
The Teatro Garibaldi programme will conclude in mid-December, with the closing events of the Grand Opening.
Full programme 13-15 November 2026.
13 November 2026
20:00 | Doors Open
20:30 | Opening Remarks
21:00 | Theatre
Le Principesse by Olga Bach, directed by Ersan Mondtag – Tickets available!
22:30 | DJ Beshkewa – Free admission, subject to capacity.
14 November 2026
11:00–17:30 | Cultural Summit and Transnational Assembly: The Right to Culture – Registration required!
18:00 | Screening Selfie – Lato B. A special screening, immediately following the world premiere at the Alice nella Città festival, with director Agostino Ferrente in attendance. In collaboration with ZaLab. Tickets available!
21:00 | Film Screening The Arab di Malek Bensmaïl in collaboration with the Efebo d’Oro Festival – Tickets available!
15 November 2026
10:30 | Breakfast and Cinema: Daisies by Věra Chytilová – Tickets available!
12:30–13:30 | Culture and the Politics of Resistance
Panellists: Olga Bach (Fondazione Studio Rizoma), Lesia Kulchynska (artist), Clelia Bartoli (University of Palermo).
Moderator: Luca Argenta (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung)
16:30 | Children’s Cinema – Microbe and Gasoline by Michel Gondry (France, 2015, 1h 45min) – Free admission, no registration required!
19:00 | Meeting and discussion with Myriam Bahaffou – Registration required.
21:30 | Music – Speaker Music: Synoptic Audio. Followed by DJ Set 4NTIERRA – Tickets available!