AltreScene – Festival of Performing Arts and Contemporary Dramaturgy

AltreScene, the contemporary stage in Catania

AltreScene is the festival of performing arts and contemporary dramaturgy promoted by ZÒ Centro Culture Contemporanee, one of the most significant cultural institutions in the Municipality of Catania and Sicily. For nearly two decades, the festival has guided the Catania audience through a season running from October to April, creating a journey through experimental theatre, contemporary dance, narrative theatre, physical theatre, and multidisciplinary arts.

A festival of national excellence

ZÒ is recognized as a pinnacle of Italian cultural excellence: the organization ranked first nationally among multidisciplinary bodies supported by the Ministry of Culture for the current three-year period. AltreScene is the heart of its live programming and hosts some of the most compelling companies on the Italian contemporary scene each year, selected by artistic director Sergio Zinna with project manager and co-curator Pamela Toscano.

Performances and languages

The program alternates between theatre, dance, and hybrid forms, with a constant focus on the quality of artistic research and the relationship with the audience. Each season is organized around themes and narrative threads that run through the performances, creating a coherent vision rather than a simple collection of titles.

• Prose theatre and experimental theatre
• Contemporary dance and dance-theatre
• Narrative theatre and authorial monologues
• Family shows and reimagined fairy tales

ZÒ in Catania

Performances are held at the ZÒ Centro Culture Contemporanee, located at Piazzale Rocco Chinnici 6 in Catania, repurposing a former industrial area into one of the city's primary hubs for contemporary culture. The festival reaffirms Catania's role as a reference point for the contemporary theatre scene in Sicily, offering the public a recurring, high-profile event throughout the winter and spring seasons.