"L'Essere e l'Umano" Theatre Festival (Artenauta Teatro)

Research theatre in the heart of the Agro Nocerino

"L'Essere e l'Umano" is a theatre festival conceived and curated by Artenauta Teatro APS, the resident company of the Teatro Comunale Diana in Nocera Inferiore, located in the Agro Nocerino-Sarnese area of the province of Salerno (Campania). From January to May, the programme guides the audience through seven evening events that address contemporary themes without filters: identity, family, power, obsessions, fragility, and the relationship between human beings and nature.

The artistic direction is led by Simona Tortora, actress, author, and director, supported in organization by Giuseppe Citarella. The festival is held under the patronage of the Municipality of Nocera Inferiore and marked its tenth anniversary in 2026.

A concept, not just a playbill

The title is not just a generic label: each season is built as a unified journey into the human condition, interpreted through irony, satire, and stage research. Alongside some of the most recognizable names in Italian innovation theatre, the festival features emerging companies, contemporary foreign dramaturgy, and the company's own productions. It is a bold choice for a provincial venue and explains why the audience has grown edition after edition.

• Seven shows per season, all starting at 8:45 PM
• A balance between national guest performances and original productions by Artenauta Teatro
• Constant focus on new generations, thanks to the company's workshops and theatre training courses
• One night per title: those wishing to follow the entire journey usually choose the season ticket

The tenth edition, from January to May 2026

The tenth-anniversary edition opened on Friday, January 9, 2026, and concluded on Friday, May 29, 2026, at the Diana. The journey alternated between social satire, myth rewrites, and civil theatre:

• January 9 — Kamikaze, spero vada meglio dell'ultima volta, written and directed by Giulio Santolini, performed with Daniele Boccardi
• February 7 — A Tua Immagine, directed by Davide Gorla, with Enrico Ballardini, Giulia D'Imperio, and Davide Gorla
• March 6 — La piccola Antigone, based on the work by Jean Anouilh, dramaturgy and direction by Simona Tortora, produced by Artenauta Teatro
• March 21 — Assetati, based on the text by Wajdi Mouawad, direction and set design by Davide Pascarella, supported by the Teatro Pubblico Campano
• April 17 — Circe, una dea contemporanea, written, directed, and performed by Ilaria Drago
• May 15 — Giullari, a tribute to Dario Fo and his Mistero Buffo, dramaturgy and direction by Antonello Ronga
• May 29 — Cantare alle ossa, text and direction by Simona Tortora, with nineteen actors from the Artenauta Teatro company

The season finale, inspired by the essay Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, was built over seven months of work involving physical practice, singing, and text study, with lighting by Peppe Petti: a collective ritual on the bond between humanity, animals, and nature.

The Teatro Comunale Diana

The evenings take place at the Teatro Comunale Diana, in Piazza Luigi Guerritore, in the centre of Nocera Inferiore. The venue is the home of Artenauta Teatro, which also conducts courses and workshops for children, adolescents, and adults there: a continuity between training and programming that is reflected in the spirit of the festival, which is openly dedicated to experimentation, research, and theatrical pedagogy.

Previous editions

The ninth edition, in 2025, had already showcased the festival's hallmark: from January 10 to May 30, it featured La Sparanoia by Niccolò Fettarappa, MarrazZarra by Pietro De Silva, Pitecus by Flavia Mastrella and Antonio Rezza — winner of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale in 2018 — and the in-house productions Cuore di Mamma and Alla Fine ci arrivano tutti. That year, the foyer hosted the "Anteprima Foyer" project, with solo exhibitions by local artists accompanying the first events. The eighth edition, between December 2023 and May 2024, opened with the tribute to Lenny Bruce by Peppe Lanzetta and Raiz.

Why it's worth the trip

For those visiting Campania off the beaten path, "L'Essere e l'Umano" is an opportunity to discover research-based programming just a few kilometres from Pompeii, Salerno, and the Amalfi Coast. The local audience, as Simona Tortora recalls, "comes because they expect to be surprised": a promise the festival has kept for ten editions now.