Making Theatre in Florence Italy

Dracula at the Bargello!

Get your tickets now at thedraculaproject.org or at any Box Office Toscana Ticket Office!

“HE’S COMING…”

FLORENCE, Italy.

Bram Stoker’s horror classic, Dracula, adapted by William McNulty and directed by Shaun Loftus will be performed at the Bargello Museum, Via Proconsolo 4, Florence, Italy from June 26th - July 9th at 9.15 p.m. Tickets will be available online at   www.thedraculaproject.org, at  any Box Office location or www.boxol.it, or at BM Bookshop (Borgo Ognissanti 4/r -FI) . In English with Italian language subtitles. Tickets: Adults € 25, Reduced/12-and-under € 17,50.

This summer, theatregoers are promised a treat when F.E.S.T.A. brings Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Florence. Terrifying, funny, and - occasionally shocking, the play will be directed by Shaun Loftus. Blood curdling, action packed scenes come courtesy of renowned SFSD fight director Dan Lendzian, and the spine-chilling musical score is written by Florence’s own Alessio Riccio. Together, our team is preparing a horror-filled evening of entertainment, sure to thrill and frighten all but the most stalwart horror aficionados!

The famous Bargello Museum’s beautiful yet eerie architecture and blood-soaked history creates a particularly stunning and haunting atmosphere ideal for the play. The well in the center of the courtyard will be the focal point – a metaphor for that which joins our earthly world to those terrifying things that lurk deep below the surface.

An international cast, haling from England, America and Singapore, as well as Italy, will perform in the original language, but subtitles, film and choreography will ensure that an international audience enjoys the show. American Shaun Loftus, who thrilled us last year with her sold-out Macbeth at the Bargello, is directing again. The cast is: Vittorio Cucci as Count Dracula, Elia Nichols (last year’s Lady Macbeth) as Lucy, Allan Caister-Pearce as Professor Van Helsing, Dan Lendzian as Jonathan Harker, Claude Girardi as Dr. Thomas Seward, Garth Laughton as Renfield, Francesco Renzoni as Norbert Briggs, Stephanie Taylor as Ms. Sullivan, and Suzanne daSilva, Margherita Ventura, and Camilla Ribechi as the alluring brides of Dracula.

The performance will be a tantalizing mixture of suspense and drama, sure to bring a shiver of delight to residents and visitors during the hot Florentine summer. Performances will be held from June 26 – July 9. The show which runs for approximately an hour and a half and starts at 9:15 p.m.

Summer 2009

MACBETH: F.E.S.T.A. recently completed its production of Macbeth at the National Bargello Museum in July 2009. Macbeth was performed in English with Italian subtitles. Cast and crew featured 10 American actors, an American director, 3 British actors, 4 Italian actors, and designers from 4 countries – as well as a large technical staff of American and Italian students and professionals. Each performance was completely sold out. RAI TV, the national TV station aired footage, and there was coverage in 8 local and national newspapers.

BABY MACBETH and STAGE COMBAT CLASSES: In addition to our mainstage production of Macbeth, F.E.S.T.A. held a children's summer workshop, Baby Macbeth, teaching theatre and stage combat techniques to 40 local and third-culture children, and culminating in a small production of the Shakespearean classic. F.E.S.T.A. also organized an adult stage combat workshop, attended by American and Italian actors and a screening of Orson Welles’ Macbeth at the Odeon Cinehall in Florence.

The success of Macbeth proved to us that Florence’s citizens, ex-pats and tourists yearn for high-quality intercultural, bilingual experiences and will take advantage of them if they are there. If you would like to be involved with F.E.S.T.A., become a private or corporate sponsor, or sign up for our mailing list, please contact us at: info@festatheatre.com.

With 2100 spectators and 7 performances, Peter and the Wolf is a new celebration of this classic children's tale. The show includes a fresh modern orchestration, a world class children's choir, an orchestra of 12 Florentine musicians, English and Italian actors, and a phenomenal cast of some of Florence's BEST kids.

To find out how you can get involved, or even better - to sponsor us in our outreach efforts, please click here.

Our 2008 big adventure was one of the best loved children's books of all time - Alice in Wonderland. This multimedia production featured a cast of some of Florence's finest actors from Italy and from around the world, with over SIXTY TWO characters, live music, dancers, and nine of Florence's children, in a special bilingual adaptation meant to be understood by the whole audience!

We are now looking forward to our third season - and we want you to be a part of this! The arts are important. Accessible, bilingual art that reaches out to the entire community is something desperately needed in our city and evident in the enthusiastic response to Peter & the Wolf. And the truth is, we cannot do it without you.

Explore our site, and get in touch - we are looking for artists, painters, actors, writers, creators, dreamers, dancers, singers, kids, audiences - and everyone else in between!

Lets have a FESTA!