A place of safety | Teatro Arena del Sole

From 5 to 8 March 2026, at Teatro Arena del Sole, in the Leo de Berardinis Hall, the performance A place of safety – Journey through the Central Mediterranean will be on stage.

The company Kepler-452 boards a search and rescue ship in the Central Mediterranean in an attempt to understand firsthand what happens along the deadliest migration route in the world. Over the course of nearly five weeks at sea, the crew rescues 156 people, who are later disembarked in a “place of safety”: the port of La Spezia.

Winner of the Franco Enriquez Award for Dramaturgy 2025 and of Le Maschere del Teatro as Best New Italian Playwright, the performance is the outcome of a field investigation. It began with interviews conducted by directors Enrico Baraldi and Nicola Borghesi, continued with a residency in Lampedusa, and culminated in the journey through the Mediterranean. Along the way, the artists met crew members of Life Support, the EMERGENCY ship, and of Sea-Watch, who became the protagonists of the play, performing alongside Nicola Borghesi.

A place of safety is the story of the encounter between a theatre company and a group of people who have chosen to dedicate part of their lives to sea rescue. At the same time, it’s an intimate reflection on what Europe wants—and what it could become.

Performance in Italian, English, Spanish, and Portuguese with surtitles.

Concept: Kepler-452
Direction and dramaturgy: Enrico Baraldi and Nicola Borghesi
With the words of: Flavio Catalano, Miguel Duarte, Giorgia Linardi, Floriana Pati, José Ricardo Peña
Performed by: Nicola Borghesi, Flavio Catalano, Miguel Duarte, Giorgia Linardi, Floriana Pati, José Ricardo Peña
Assistant director: Roberta Gabriele
Set and costumes: Alberto Favretto
Lighting design: Maria Domènech
Sound and music: Massimo Carozzi
Movement consultant: Marta Ciappina
Video project: Enrico Baraldi
Dramaturgical consultant: Dario Salvetti
Volunteer assistant director and video editor: Alberto Camanni
Scenery built at the ERT Stagecraft Workshop

Produced by: Emilia Romagna Teatro ERT / National Theatre, Teatro Metastasio di Prato, CSS Teatro Stabile di Innovazione del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Théâtre des 13 vents CDN Montpellier (France)
In collaboration with: Sea-Watch and EMERGENCY

Performance video: Vladimir Bertozzi
Production photos: Luca Del Pia
Photo by: Dario Bosio / EMERGENCY ONG Onlus

Special thanks to Giovanni Zanotti for his essential contribution to the dramaturgy.

This project is supported by the Culture Moves Europe programme, funded by the European Union and the Goethe-Institut.
Selected artist of Prospero NEW, co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.