The city confirms its role as a cultural hub for Italian-speaking Switzerland with a series of events that, between January and the end of the month, paints a diverse picture of theater in Lugano. The program of the LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura and the Teatro Foce brings together reinterpretations of classics, new stage productions, hybrid projects between journalism and theater, and productions that appeal to a diverse audience.
The LAC, located at Piazza Bernardino Luini 6, continues its mission as a space open to the performing arts, keeping a close eye on both tradition and the pressing needs of the present. Information and advance ticket sales are available through the official box office and on the website, a reference point for those closely following theater in Lugano.
Antigone, between resistance and individual conscience
The series opens with Jean Anouilh's Antigone , on stage Thursday, January 15th and Friday, January 16th in the Sala Teatro. Roberto Latini's reinterpretation, a two-time Ubu Prize winner, takes the text written by the French playwright during the Nazi occupation and transforms it into a timeless reflection on the conflict between law and conscience. Latini constructs a play that oscillates between soliloquy and chorus, entrusting the characters with the task of reflecting one another.
On stage, alongside Latini as Antigone, Manuela Kustermann plays the Nurse, while Silvia Battaglio, Ilaria Drago, and Francesca Mazza complete a cast that crosses identities and genders, transforming the body into a chorus and the word into a collective matter. Co-produced by Teatro di Roma – Teatro Nazionale and La Fabbrica dell'Attore Teatro Vascello, the show was recently awarded the Last Seen 2025 prize, chosen by readers of Krapp's Last Post.
Critical perspectives on contemporary discrimination
The Teatro Foce will host the world premiere of Luca Spadaro's "Peccato che sia femmina" (It's a Female Pee) on Friday, January 16th at 8:00 PM, with repeat performances on January 17th and 18th. Director, writer, and performer Spadaro continues his exploration of discrimination in the 21st century, choosing the form of a monologue to expose stereotypes and contradictions.
The stage setting is deliberately unsettling: an actor prepares for rehearsals of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew in his dressing room, under the direct gaze of the audience, called upon to share an unmediated space. No interaction is permitted, while a female voice imparts instructions from outside. The protagonist's progressive exposure thus becomes a metaphor for a power that observes and judges, situating the performance within the Home Festival.
Iran's story, between stage and journalism
On Sunday, January 18th at 8:00 PM, the LAC stage hosts Una notte a Tehran , a theatrical project marking Cecilia Sala's stage debut. Journalist and author, Sala brings an immersive narrative to the stage that intertwines the language of reportage with that of the stage, guiding audiences through the contradictions of contemporary Iran.
From clandestine parties to street protests, from universities to the cells of Evin Prison, the show reworks themes and atmospheres already familiar to listeners of the Stories podcast , translating them into a live performance that strengthens the emotional impact of the story. This project expands the boundaries of theater in Lugano, opening it up to new narrative modalities.
The return of a timeless classic
By popular demand, Slava's Snowshow , a poetic work by Slava Polunin, often called "the best clown in the world," returns from January 21st to 25th. The show, performed several times in the afternoons and evenings, has captivated millions of spectators worldwide thanks to a universal language of images, emotions, and a light-hearted melancholy.
Snowstorms, laughter, and silences accompany the audience on a journey that defies rigid definitions, as Polunin himself likes to recall: a theater of desires, dreams, and disillusions that rejects unequivocal interpretations.
Politics, province and power on stage
Also at the Teatro Foce, on Wednesday, January 21st at 8:00 PM, the Compagnia CapoTrave's "Le volpi" will be performed , starring Giorgio Colangeli, Manuela Mandracchia, and Federica Ombrato. The play, written by Lucia Franchi and Luca Ricci, alternates irony and drama to depict the Italian provinces as a microcosm of power and compromise.
In a dining room, on a Sunday in August, seemingly formal dialogues unfold, revealing self-absolving mechanisms and petty personal gain. A finalist for the 2024 Ubu Awards for Best New Play, the play fits coherently into a program that uses theater in Lugano as a tool for critical observation of reality.
Not just theater in Lugano: dance and international recognition
Alongside its theater offerings, LAC is also consolidating its presence in the contemporary dance scene. Performer Georgios Kotsifakis received the 2025 Danza&Danza Award for Landless , a solo directed by Christos Papadopoulos and produced by LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura and the Torinodanza festival. The show debuted at the Teatro Foce in June 2024 as part of the Lugano Dance Project.
The jury highlighted the performer's refinement and her ability to inhabit movement with control and intensity, also jointly recognizing Papadopoulos's My Fierce Ignorant Step , a LAC co-production, as best contemporary production. This result reinforces Lugano's role as a creative hub between theater, dance, and performance research.
With a program that spans languages and genres, the LAC and Teatro Foce confirm a busy and diverse winter season, in which theater in Lugano asserts itself not only as entertainment, but as a space for shared reflection and engagement with the present.
