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The Evolution of the Italian
Theatre System: From the
Renaissance to the Contemporary
Era
The Theatrical System
History of Organisation, Economics and Theatre Policies in
Italy
Key Concepts
Production : Realising an idea through human, technical and economic resources; Realising a show from the first conception, through all the steps, to the debut and production costs. Distribution : Allows the show to be disseminated to venues that can programme it; brings production and exhibition together. Exercise : Touches on the management of theatre and non-theatre spaces: realise the moment when the spectator attends the performance. Promotion : Initiatives that widely disseminate the performance: criticism, research, documentation.
The Historical Basics of the Italian System
Modern Age
The Italian theatre system was run by professionals, with many different genres of entertainment. The entertainment market flourished through the commedia dell'arte, musical opera and the actors' circus. It marked a real quantum leap from the Middle Ages, latching on to the order of the theatre. The performance was organised and programmed in indoor venues, and the seats were paid for.
The Venda of the Show
Favoured by the birth of professions, definition of mysteries and birth of companies. Distribution of new entertainment genres. Playing a show not only during the holidays but also at other times of the year.
The role of the spectator: by buying a ticket, he favoured the takings, but above all he could express his enjoyment of the show.
Production Model of the Company
Made up of professional actors, the theatre company was perhaps born in 1545 when the first company called Fraternal Compagnia was established. The novelty of the companies, just as in the Commedia dell'Arte, lay in the fact that they were organised in a new bourgeois spirit and enjoyed relative autonomy in economic, organisational and artistic terms. The company also gave birth to a new professional figure that soon disappeared, namely the Improvvisa, the participation of a woman, therefore an actress, in the performances. The theatre companies did not enjoy state support, and the shows they organised were for various public venues. Only the privileged dramatic companies were the only ones to enjoy government funding and subsidies, because they organised performances only for privileged audiences, such as sovereigns and very noble people.
Distribution Model of the Circulation
Circulation means the movement from city to city and country to country of actors and their performances. Travelling allowed the increase of revenue and to reach the demand where it was and to arouse it where it did not yet exist. Circulation in Italy was divided into a southern and a northern-central area.
The Theatre Year and Stagioni
The comical year, and the period dedicated to the presentation of plays, was divided into seasons and began during Lent and ended on the last day of Carnival.
The Theatrical Exercise
Theatre buildings from the second half of the Renaissance, known as "stanze delle commedie", were the indoor venues for public performances. The model of the "sala barocca" U-shaped architectural invention emerged, which was popular throughout the century. The Baroque hall best expressed the sociability of the ruling classes, and the curvature of the boxes allowed for mutual gazes between spectators. The new spaces made it possible to improve the conditions of enjoyment, expand programming times and effectively control the influx of the public through the introduction of admission tickets. The theatre buildings were initially owned by aristocratic families, and in the 17th century, the figure of the impresario was born.
The theatre had to pay a disproportionate and large tax and was hounded by script censors ready to move, as it was considered dangerous since it was shown to a large audience, including the sovereign and other renowned figures.
A Mild Incorporation
The Ministry of Education did not recognise the theatre as an educational and didactic tool but only recognised professional training, so it decided to finance, but only slightly, the promotion of drama schools and musical institutions.
The Assertion of Copyright
Playwrights could finally be recognised as having exclusive power to use their work, and this strengthened their professional identity. The SIA was the most important association dedicated to the protection of artistic and literary property.
New Balances in the Competitive Arena of Entertainment
With the lack of funding and rising production costs, there was the Great Depression in the theatres, and opera theatre ceased to expand. However, the launch of prose theatre, which is easier to organise and more accessible to a middle class, allowed the theatre to recover and gain its own attention.
The "Microsociety" of Actors
The micro-society of actors is a closed system that encompasses autonomous theatre companies and the actors themselves as professionals. The theatrical life leads to distinction from the society, and is characterised by homelessness, constant wandering around the city, performing the body and working on emotions. The theatrical life is strongly distinguished by the handing down from father to son of the theatrical culture and profession, so much so that several companies are actually run by families of actors.
The Compagnion Leader
The second half of the 19th century in Italy saw the birth of the "grande attore", that actor capable of dominating the stage and being its absolute Lord. This led to the foundation of the "compagnia capocomicale", hierarchically structured, at the apex there is the actor who controls and manages the production and the expenses of the shows and assigns the others their own tasks, leading the troupe.
International Tours: Grandi Export Actors
With the Great Actors, Italian shows went overseas and actors became famous all over the world, such as Eleonora Duse. This was made possible by new innovations in transport, the spread of printing and photography, and the hunger of the world's rich social classes for culture.
The Exercise: The Italy of Theatres
Italy had a vast network of theatre infrastructure, ranging from small theatres to large theatres with 4000 seats such as La Scala in Milan. The theatres included city theatres, provincial theatres, and social theatres, with a large proportion being private, owned by individuals or corporations for commercial purposes. All the theatres housed a mosaic of commercial ventures such as cafeterias, trattorias, beer gardens and gambling halls.
Theatrical Agencies and Specialised Press
Theatre agencies came into being to cope with the growing complexity of the market, handling various services and facilitating the interplay between supply and demand. The theatrical press also played a major role in the birth of the theatrical information system, publishing reports on top performances and comments on the topics covered in the scenes.
The 20th Century
In the 20th century, Italy rode the wave of the belle epoque, with audiences flocking to the theatres in abundance, enthralled by charismatic actresses and actors and brilliant texts written to entertain.
The Industrialization of Theatre
The Emergence of Auteur Dramaturgy
The late 19th century was a fertile era for auteur dramaturgy, represented by prominent figures such as D'Annunzio and Pirandello. This period witnessed the industrialization of the theatre, where the medium tackled the relationship with the audience by introducing technical innovations, modern stage spaces, innovative texts, sound reproduction techniques, and revolutionizing the performing arts system. These transformations led to the emergence of new art forms and products.
The Managerial Turn
The need to adapt to this new scenario resulted in an unprecedented focus on the economic and managerial dimension of the theatrical art, leading to a managerial turn. The spread of anonymous capital companies and the rise of
Class Consciousness and Internal Conflict
The modernization of the theatre industry led to conflicts between the left- wing strength of the populars and the right-wing strength of the conservative, landlord class, which also affected the theatre professions, where capocomedians and scriptwriters began to clash over their sides.
From Mutualismo to Category Organisations
The implementation of mutual aid since the 1700s, aimed at solidarity between equals and mutual assistance in cases of illness, evolved into the formation of category organizations. The League fought to enforce the principle of collective bargaining and to achieve union minimums and a single contract, while also promoting the idea of building a parliamentary group for the defence of the theatre class with the support of socialist parliamentarians.
Scioperi and Theatre for the People
The first strike by the theatres occurred in 1919, with actors using the strike instrument like all other workers and participating in the front line of the Red Two Years. Socialism saw the theatre as an ideal instrument of culture and integration of the working classes, leading to the establishment of the Teatro del Popolo (Theatre of the People) in Milan, which aimed to provide affordable access to the working class.
Subsidies and the Fascist Regime
With the rise of the Fascist regime, the state's economic commitment to the theatre on a legislative and institutional level increased, and the Italian theatre became highly dependent on subsidies, closely intertwined with private initiatives and public interventions. The Fascist regime used the theatre as a tool for education and propaganda, promoting the image of a government that cared about the cultural level of the masses and sought national integration.
The Institutionalization of Drama Theatre
The absolute concentration of power by the state under the Fascist regime allowed Benito Mussolini to exert total control over the lives of citizens and cultural practices, including the institutionalization of drama theatre.
The Fascist Regime's Control over Theatre
Conditioning Artistic and Management Choices
The dictator had no intention of entering directly into theatre production, but wanted to heavily condition the artistic and management choices of private theatre companies through the financial system. The regime
rewarded those theatres that promoted criteria of functionality and effectiveness in terms of regime political consensus.
Establishment of Regulatory Bodies
In 1930, the Corporation for the Performing Arts was established with the aim of solving the economic, trade union, and artistic problems of the theatre and ensuring collaboration between employers and workers. Subsequently, the Inspectorate or General Directorate of the Theatre was founded, which was responsible for censorship, supervision, financing, and promotion of the performing arts, and aimed to guarantee the freedom of private industries to carry out actions that might be in the public interest.
Subsidies and Funding
Subsidies regulated on a legislative basis were only granted to opera and drama seasons. Funding was initially awarded for the debut of each production by a primary company. In order to be financed, the shows had to present Italian texts by Italian authors, possibly contemporary and supportive of fascist ideology. During the war, these shows also had the task of showing people an illusory view, that soldiers in the war were fine, that waging war is normal, and it is everyone's duty to participate in it.
Censorship
Censorship dealt mainly with morals and decency and expressed a conservative position. It was in effect an instrument of control thanks to the introduction of a specific law. The aim was to make theatre explicitly a propaganda tool, and censorship could be done at any time, even at the cost of suspending a performance.
The Regime's Promotion of Theatre
International Promotion and the Birth of the Academy
The 1930s was the period in which the regime was most concerned and made sure that cultural events and institutions disseminated and focused propaganda. The state paid much attention to theatre, so much so that it created the Regia Accademia d'Arte Drammatica (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and had two three-year training courses: one for actors and one for directors.
The Post-War Period and the Emergence of
Stable Theatres
The Conquest of Stability
During the post-World War II period in Italy, an opposite model to the tour company emerged, a model based on production stability, on the culture of
private companies to withstand the unfortunate situation of the previous decade and to recover from it.
The Crisis of Stables and the Dilation of Theatre in Society
Establishments in the industrial triangle take over large theatres and increase their activities and audience numbers. They also think in terms of theatre and go on tour. However, the quality leap of the established theatres is being held back on the political-institutional front, where they come up against insufficient public funding in relation to the project of advancing the social mission of the public theatre.
The In-Discussion of the Public Theatre
The established theatres began to feel abandoned by the government and also by politics in general; in fact, in the 1960s, laws were passed for the cinema and musical activities but not for drama. Moreover, the quality of the permanent theatres was blocked because of the competitiveness between them, they got in each other's way and even competed with each other for actors and squares. Actors also feel threatened in terms of research and freedom, and want to claim a social and above all professional role, leading to the emergence of self-managed companies.
Theatre in the Era of the FUS
The Emergence of New Production Formulas: Cantina,
Decentralisation, and Cooperatives
In the 1960s, there was a growing dissatisfaction with the established theatres, which were accused of condemning all experimentation and not allowing contemporary dramaturgy to participate. This led to the emergence of new production formulas:
Cantina (Cellar) Theatres : These were underground spaces, warehouses, or basements that were chosen for their low rental costs and could be adapted as theatres for research projects and theatrical workshop activities. These small theatres were organised as simple private circles in free zones and had the centrality of urban culture, highlighting and interpreting the problems of the society of the time.
Decentralisation : Giuliano Scabia, commissioned by the Teatro Stabile di Torino, conducted a decentralisation of production by bringing theatrical productions to the city's suburbs and interacting with the inhabitants, addressing issues of actuality. This decentralisation was intertwined with the utopian and libertarian tension of 1968 through social protests.
Cooperatives : From the 1970s onwards, theatre cooperatives were born, which were self-managed companies and groups that collaborated to make a fair and democratic theatre, opposed to the hierarchical structure. These cooperatives aimed at equal rights and duties among
their members, seeking a real organic relationship with the public that goes beyond the theatrical fact.
The Search for New Audiences and Spaces
The search for new audiences and new spaces led to the birth of regional circuits in some Italian regions without permanent establishments, such as the Emilia-Romagna Theatre Association. These associations were bodies born out of the relationship between municipalities and provinces, networking municipally owned theatres on a regional level to overcome the isolation of the single venue towards integrated programming on a regional level.
The capillary network of shows and events organised by the ATER dell'Emilia Romagna marked an exceptional organicity, to which the foundation of the first DAMS (Disciplines of Arts, Music, and Performing Arts) at the University of Bologna in 1971 was no stranger.
The FUS (Fondo Unico per lo Spettacolo) and its Impact
In the 1980s, the Lagorio Law introduced the first body of economic support for the performing arts, the FUS (Fondo Unico per lo Spettacolo). The FUS strengthened economic planning and became the main instrument in the field of the performing arts at the disposal of the State, although it always intervened politically through the allocation of financial aid.
The FUS was a milestone, but it was not always an achievement for the theatre, as it was a mother law that entrusted the strategic guidelines for each sector to daughter laws, i.e., sector laws. The legislative vacuum was filled by ministerial acts that regulated the sector by fixing the type of eligible subjects, the conditions of access, and the criteria and parameters of evaluation.
Decentralisation and Constitutional Reform
In 1998, responsibility for the performing arts passed from the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MIBAC). The third decentralisation took place in the 1990s, where a great clash opened up between the regions, which claimed the right to their own action, and the state, which still did not want to manage the performing arts directly in the political field, but through the FUS and to finance theatre activities.
In 2004, it was decided that the promotion and organisation of all cultural activities is a legislative matter where the state can only enact the fundamental principles, while the regions are responsible for exercising regulatory power.
service role in their local areas and are supported by local authorities, promoting the development of genuine urban theatre systems. They have an identity that reflects autonomy in their choices and freedom of management from politics.
Permanent Theatres of Innovation : These are places of theatrical research and experimentation, or focused on children and youth, born in the 1980s from research centres. They aim to overcome the difficulties of action circuits for research shows and to provide a home for children's theatre.
The Role of Regional Circuits
Regional circuits have played a central role in the distribution of theatre productions. These circuits were created to federate theatres in provincial towns, but their short durations (only a few days) are not very convenient for companies.
The Rise of Festivals
Since the 20th century, festivals have become significant cultural events in the theatre landscape. These "spectacular devices" offer the public opportunities to encounter performances in different contexts outside the ordinary season. Festivals often take place in the summer and in non-theatre venues, and they can divert resources and visibility away from the continuity of territorial initiatives.
Promotional Activities
The theatre world is inhabited by a multitude of organisations that are concerned with promotion. These promotional activities seek to increase knowledge of theatre among both practitioners (through professional training) and the general public (through the dissemination and appreciation of theatre and its culture). These activities take place in various cultural venues, such as universities, libraries, and schools.
Audience Trends
According to ISTAT surveys, theatre attendance in Italy has gradually increased over the decades, from 10% of Italians in the 1980s to 17.2% in
- However, the theatre audience has remained predominantly female, medium-educated, and highly-educated, suggesting that it has struggled to become a more inclusive and diverse cultural practice.
Reforms and Appointments
The most significant event in the recent history of Italian theatre is the promulgation of Law 175 of 2017, which declares the cultural, formative, educational, and social value of the performing arts in Italy. This law sets the stage for further legislation to support the professional activities of the performing arts sector.
Financing Reforms
In 2013, the "Decreto Valore Cultura" (Value for Culture Decree) was issued, proposing measures to strategically reposition culture in the Italian system, including new criteria for the early payment of grants for the live entertainment sector. In 2014, a new decree was issued that further structured the criteria for subsidising the sectors covered by the FUS (Fondo Unico per lo Spettacolo, or Single Fund for the Performing Arts).
The Rhetoric of Impartial Numbers
The "Decreto Valore Cultura" revolutionized the evaluation system for funding by introducing a highly complex mechanism based on quantitative evaluation, with the aim of achieving transparency and fair administrative action. This approach minimizes the subjectivity of human judgement in favor of the "impartiality of numbers", although it also risks shifting the focus of cultural asset evaluation towards public administration priorities rather than artistic quality.
Redefining National Theatres
The new "Valore Cultura" decree also redefines the system for establishing national theatres, introducing three new categories: theatres of major cultural interest, national theatres, and theatre production centres. This reorganizes the landscape of stable theatre production in Italy.
