A place of safety. A Journey into the Central Mediterranean

Première: 27. 2. 2025, Teatro Arena del Sole, Bologna (IT)
Running time 1 hour and 50 minutes. No Intermission.
A show in Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese, with Slovenian and English surtitles

Author of concept Kepler-452
Directors and dramaturgs Nicola Borghesi, Enrico Baraldi
Text by Flavio Catalano, Miguel Duarte, Giorgia Linardi, Floriana Pati, José Ricardo Peña
Assistant director Roberta Gabriele
Set and costumes designer Alberto Favretto
Lighting designer Maria Domènech
Sound designer and composer Massimo Carozzi
Choreographic consultant Marta Ciappina
Video project Enrico Baraldi
Dramaturgy consultant Dario Salvetti

Emilia Romagna Teatro ERT / National Theatre (IT), Teatro Metastasio di Prato (IT), CSS Teatro stabile di innovazione del Friuli Venezia Giulia (IT), Théâtre des 13 vents CDN Montpellier (FR) 

In collaboration with Sea-Watch, EMERGENCY

Cast 
Nicola Borghesi, Flavio Catalano, Miguel Duarte, Giorgia Linardi, Floriana Pati, José Ricardo Peña

The Italian company Kepler-452, based in Bologna, embarks on a search and rescue ship, the Sea-Watch 5, in the Central Mediterranean to try to understand firsthand what happens on the world’s deadliest migration route. In almost five weeks of sailing, the crew rescues 156 people, who are then disembarked in the “place of safety”, the port of La Spezia. The performance is the result of field research, which began with interviews by directors Enrico Baraldi and Nicola Borghesi, continued with a residency in Lampedusa and the subsequent departure for the Mediterranean route. Along the way, the artists met crew members from Life Support, the ship of the organisation EMERGENCY, as well as the activists from the organisation Sea-Watch; they later became the protagonists of the play staged by Nicola Borghesi. A Place of Safety is not only the story of the encounter between a theatre company and a group of people who have decided to devote part of their lives to rescue at sea, but also – and above all – a spark of attention on the collective blind spot of our continent: what is happening in the Central Mediterranean. Ultimately, it is an intimate reflection on what Europe aspires to be, what it is not, and what it could become.

The project is supported by the Culture Moves Europe call for proposals, funded by the European Union and the Goethe-Institut.

This work is produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.

This project has been selected by Prospero NEW platform co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union

With the support of Italian Ministry of Culture, Regione Emilia Romagna, Fondazione di Modena and Assicoop.

AWARDS
UBU Award 2025-Best theatre performance
Franco Enriquez Award for dramaturgy 2025
Le Maschere del Teatro Award for best Italian new authors 2025