This year the catalogue of the 53rd International Theatre Festival takes on a dual identity: the Theatre is Body side is dedicated to the rich line-up of performances in the programme, as well as the projects of the Biennale College Teatro, while the Body is Poetry section features all the other events on the calendar, including talks, round tables, masterclasses led by international Masters, the film series at Spazio Cinema, and the www.wordworldwar.bomb project.

Theatre is Body opens with an introduction by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, President of La Biennale di Venezia, followed by an interview with Artistic Director Willem Dafoe and his assistants Valentina Alferj and Andrea Porcheddu. The catalogue continues with the movitations for the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to Elizabeth LeCompte, founder of The Wooster Group, and the Silver Lion to Swiss actress and author Ursina Lardi.
Following, precise credits, detailed directors’ notes and stage images illustrate the performances of the 53rd International Theatre Festival.
The volume also introduces the Authors Under 40 and the Director Under 35 of the Biennale College Teatro, presented with a photo-portrait, a biography and a detailed outline of their projects.

Body is Poetry opens with a statement by Artistic Director Willem Dafoe outlining the theme of the Festival: Theatre is Body – Body is Poetry. This is followed by a section featuring responses from artists to the mission statement of the Biennale Teatro 2025, creating an “open, multilayered conversation” including “notes for a theatre that makes its presence felt – a lively and mysterious substance that is constant but can never be repeated.”
The volume continues with reflections from the Lions, directors, performers, and companies invited to the Festival, who were asked to answer to four questions that, considering the recent past, “look to interrogate the theatre of the present day”.
The catalogue also provides information on the full range of events in the programme: talks, Lectio Magistralis, the round table bringing together the protagonists of the Biennale Teatro 1975, the symposium dedicated to Luca Ronconi, the Spazio Cinema, the exhibition “Biennale Teatro 1975. Texts and images from the Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts”, the workshop L’Enciclopedia delle emozioni held by Davide Iodice, and the series of workshops led by international Masters.
A section is dedicated to www.wordworldwar.bomb, a project by the Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Drammatica “Silvio d’Amico”, with Antonio Latella’s artistic supervision.
The catalogue ends with the complete Calendar of the 53rd International Theatre Festival, in Venice from 31 May to 15 June 2025.

Graphic design and layout are by Studio Tomo Tomo, Milan.