Baiano in Scena

Winter theatre at the Colosseo in Baiano

Baiano in Scena is the theatre festival that brings the cold months to life at the Teatro Colosseo in Baiano, a town in the province of Avellino overlooking the Mandamento baianese plain, where Irpinia meets the Nola area. The event was born in autumn 2025 on the initiative of the amateur company I Sognattori, a theatre group of the Pro Loco Baiano, and is held under the patronage of the Municipality of Baiano.

The starting idea is both simple and ambitious: to restore a stable theatre season to the town, capable of bringing audiences back to the hall consistently throughout the winter, rather than relying on isolated events scattered across the calendar. In just a few months, the project has become one of the most popular cultural events in this corner of Campania, halfway between Naples, Nola, and Avellino.

Two sections for two audiences

The program is built on two complementary strands, designed to reach different spectators without ever losing the popular tone that characterizes the festival:

• Risate ed Emozioni (Laughter and Emotions) — the evening section for adult audiences, dedicated primarily to traditional Neapolitan comedy and contemporary comic theatre, featuring guest companies from Campania and in-house productions;
• Favole e Magia (Fables and Magic) — the section for families and children aged four and up, with fairy tales, magic, and puppet theatre scheduled on Sunday afternoons.

Saturday evening shows begin at 8:30 PM, while Sunday afternoon performances start at 6:30 PM: a regular schedule that has already become a habit for many families in the Mandamento.

The first edition: nearly two thousand spectators

Presented to the public on September 13, 2025, the first edition opened on Saturday, October 18, 2025, with Vieni Avanti Cretino, a tribute to Neapolitan comedy performed by Giovanni Allocca, Enzo Varone, and Franco Mantovanelli, and continued the following day with Gedeone Cuor di Fifone by the La Mansarda company, the first title in the section for children. The season concluded on Sunday, April 12, 2026, after three performances of Un Turco Napoletano by Eduardo Scarpetta, staged by the Sognattori and directed by Franco Pinelli. The final tally recorded approximately two thousand total spectators, including more than four hundred children.

I Sognattori, a company born in 2013

Behind the festival is a company with roots in a local theatrical tradition active since the 1950s. I Sognattori were formed in 2013 by a group of friends, joined the Pro Loco Baiano, and obtained FITA membership in 2015. Their repertoire includes about a dozen productions, such as Questi Fantasmi (2025), Chi non muore si rivede (2024), Se ci sei batti un colpo (2023), and Chistu vascio è 'na reggia (2020), which have been performed outside municipal borders, from Montoro to Summonte, and from Ortona to Ariano Irpino and even Rome.

Theatre and community

Baiano in Scena goes beyond just the performance schedule. The festival hosts exhibitions in the theatre foyer — such as the display dedicated to Diego Armando Maradona during the first edition — book presentations on local history, and, most importantly, an award for young people: the «Assuntina ed Agnesina Amodeo» scholarship, awarded as part of the «Talenti in scena e in musica: creatività, teatro e tecnologia» competition, promoted in collaboration with the «L'Incontro» Circle and the Giovanni XXIII – G. Parini Comprehensive Institute of Baiano, featuring categories for screenwriting, musicals, and digital arts.

Why it's worth the trip

Visitors from outside the area will find something here that cannot be bought: a packed village theatre, an audience that knows the lines of Scarpetta and Eduardo by heart, and a community that considers its theatre a common good. It is the most direct way to understand how Neapolitan comedy continues to live, every Saturday night, in the towns of the Campanian hinterland.