International Youth Theatre Festival of Rome

An international festival for youth theatre

The International Youth Theatre Festival of Rome is an international event dedicated to theatre for children and young people, held at the Teatro San Raffaele, a historic 440-seat venue in the Trullo district of Rome's Municipio XI. The festival is produced by the Compagnia Il Cilindro, founded in 1989 and led by artistic director Pino Cormani, a playwright, actor, and director with over thirty-five years of experience in theatrical production, education, and cultural management.

From a national to an international stage

Following its inaugural national edition, the festival has made the leap to the international stage, with the ambition of establishing a permanent platform in Rome for youth theatre that connects artists, educators, and families from Italy and across Europe. The stated goal is to cultivate a new generation of theatre-goers and foster informed audiences, building on the company's long-standing local work with initiatives such as Primi Passi a Teatro.

Performances, workshops, and meetings

The festival program is structured across several key areas:

• Performances designed for young audiences, blending traditional storytelling, puppetry, music, and physical theatre with innovative visual and digital languages;
• Workshops for children, teachers, and young actors, focusing on creativity, language, inclusivity, and cross-cultural collaboration;
• Meetings and conferences with educators, artists, and cultural professionals on the role of theatre in youth education.

Special attention is given to inclusive theatre, with spaces accessible to visitors with disabilities and a program that celebrates the diversity of both artists and themes.

The Teatro San Raffaele and the Trullo district

The festival is deeply rooted in a symbolic location of Rome's periphery: the Teatro San Raffaele in Trullo is a cultural stronghold that has resisted for years, defended by local citizens and artists. Hosting an international festival here means bringing theatrical culture beyond the city center, offering the neighborhood and the entire city of Rome, in the Lazio region, a European-level event dedicated to children, families, and young people. It is a festival that combines the educational vocation of youth theatre with an openness to companies and artistic languages from other countries.