Romaeuropa Festival - REF 2025

Events on different dates - check the official calendar

The Romaeuropa Festival is back in eleven Roman venues - from the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone to Argentina, India and Vascello theatres, from the Mattatoio to Villa Medici, from the Maxxi to the Teatro dell'Opera - with a rich programme of multidisciplinary arts events. The prestigious appointment, with the title RE40F, celebrates its fortieth anniversary and invites the audience to imagine and look to the future: two months featuring 110 events of music, dance, theatre, digital arts and creations for kids, with 250 performances and 700 artists from all over the world.

The 2025 edition presents a series of special projects with European cultural institutions, through focuses dedicated to the Iberian scene, in the context of the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Spain, to the Flemish scene, as part of the three-year partnership signed with Flanders State of the Art, and to the Lithuanian scene in collaboration with the Lithuanian Cultural Institute in Italy.

Between generations and languages, on stage are many renowned names from the Italian and international art scene, including great returns and new proposals: from prestigious European companies such as the Ballet Nacional de España, the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company and the Ballet National de Marseille, to music major protagonists - including Laurie Anderson, Stefano Bollani with Alessandro Baricco, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Ryoji Ikeda or Blixa Bargeld with the Danish company Hotel Pro Forma - to national and international scene personalities such as William Forsythe, Ioannis Mandafounis Marcos Morau, (LA)HORDE, Miet Warlop, Qudus Onikeku, Moritz Ostruschnjak, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker with Rabih Mrouè, Akram Khan with Manal AlDowayan, U-Theatre, Christos Papadopoulos, Israel Galvan with Mohamed El Khatib, BERLIN, Milo Rau, Lia Rodrigues, Caroline Guiela Nguyen, Louise Lecavalier, Fanny & Alexander, Fabiana Iacozzilli, Gabriele Paolocà with Claudia Marsicano, Muta Imago, Panzetti / Ticconi, KOR'SIA, Federica Rosellini and Motus.

Directed by Fabrizio Grifasi, the festival inaugurates on 4 September at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma with Afanador, performed by the Ballet Nacional de España, in collaboration with choreographer Marcos Morau, featuring 33 dancers and 9 musicians who transpose the photos from the books Ángel Gitano and Mil Besos into movement and music.

Among the events on the programme are two cine-concerts at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone dedicated to the cult film Whiplash by Damien Chazelle and La Haine (The Hate) by Mathieu Kassovitz, to the tributes for the 100th anniversary of Luciano Berio (Mattatoio) and to John Adams (Auditorium Parco della Musica).

The Pelanda at the Mattatoio hosts ULTRA REF, the project combining emerging creativity and new formats with different sections: ULTRA CLUB, dedicated to singer- songwriting, pop, electronic and digital experimentation, between networks, new sounds and contaminations; Dancing Days, which explores new trends in European and national dance on the web; the renewed dance and theatre sections on new talents and new realities; the sixth edition of Powered by REF, the project supporting artists under 30 active in theatrical research, which selects three authors whose studies are presented in Anni Luce, the section on Italian theatre.

RE40F renews its bond with the Silvio d'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art through the Silvio d'Amico Prize for Directing with the performance of a young director, and with the Riccione Prize - Pier Vittorio Tondelli Prize, with the reading of extracts from the finalist texts by some young performers. The edition features also the appointments with Ghost Track, the format intertwining theatre, music and comedy; Design Talks, the day dedicated to graphic design; REF Kids & Family, the section for children and families with three weekends of free shows and activities, as well as a free playground with play areas, creative workshops and the sensory and immersive installation Odissea Sonora, inspired by the epic story of Ulysses.

As part of a larger project financed by PNRR - Transizione Digitale Organismi Culturali e Creativi, the festival is also launching a path of accessibility with an initial realisation of content in LIS (Italian Sign Language) for the communication of the events, thanks to a project realised in collaboration with APS Io Se Posso Komunico.

Complete program and insights on romaeuropa.net