Extra Moenia by Emma Dante, a journey beyond the walls of society

From 11 to 16 March 2025, Bellini Theater of Naples home “Extra Moenia”, the new show of Emma Dante, a choral work that transforms the stage into a universe of intertwined stories, raw realities and visceral poetry. A production signed Biondo Theatre Palermo, in co-production with One Act Play – Carnezzeria and in collaboration with South West Coast.

A theatre that breaks barriers

The title Outside the Walls, from Latin outside the walls, summarizes the profound meaning of the show: to tell what exists beyond the boundaries of normality, on the margins of a society that too often ignores, rejects or looks the other way. Here, the characters are not abstract archetypes, but men and women who live on the edges of our contemporaneity.

Emma Dante builds a theatrical choreography made of moving bodies, sharp words and a desperate humanity that collides and intertwines in the stage space. Without a linear plot, the show follows the flow of a day any, from waking up to sunset, as a microcosm of individuals pour into the streets to face their destiny.

The protagonists of a humanity on the move

A heterogeneous multitude moves on stage:

• The railwayman, symbol of a world in transit and a system that never stops.
• Ukrainian woman fleeing war, witness to destruction and hope.
• The Congolese migrant, bearer of a history of crossings and resistance.
• The soldier who exalts war, the embodiment of the violence and absurdity of conflict.
• The two lovers, prisoners of a love that struggles to find a direction.
• The religious family, immersed in dogmas and its contradictions.
• Two Palermo footballers, a sign of a collective identity that is intertwined with the desire for redemption.
• The market, the crowd, the buzz of the city which becomes the theatre of everyday life.
• The cry of protest, the song of hope, because even in chaos there is room for resistance.

Everyone moves in one continuous flow of encounters and clashes, until we find ourselves immersed in a sea of ​​plastic, a powerful metaphor for a collective shipwreck, a symbol of a society adrift.

A theatrical rite of denunciation and hope

Emma Dante leads us to observe the fragility of the human condition and the violence of our time with a direction that oscillates between the real and the surreal, between theatrical gesture and symbolism. The stage becomes square, church, bar, street, sea. A fluid space where each scene is a fragment of a humanity that moves, march, rebel and get lost.

The quote from Pina Bausch, “Let's dance, let's dance… otherwise we're lost”, is the key to understanding the ultimate meaning of this show: walking as the only way to free oneself from the weight of existence, movement as an act of resistance and liberation.

Information and tickets

The show will be on stage at Bellini Theater in Naples from March 11 to 16, 2025. For times, tickets and details, you can consult the official website of the theater.