The Piccolo Teatro was founded in Milan in 1947 by Paolo Grassi and Giorgio Strehler and it is the first example of such a stable organization in Italy. The theatre has 500 seats and a tiny stage; its main aim is to be a theatre of art for everybody, with a “mixed” repertory: an international theatre strictly linked to its roots.
Next to the international drama, the Piccolo Teatro stages a harsh but poetic aesthetics which, following great reformers, from Copeau to Reinhardt, focuses on the creation of a new actor within an articulated body (i.e., the show), which is firmly held by the “director-creator”.
The very high aesthetic quality, combined with the novelty of a revolutionary organization, are the main assets of this theatre, which has become a driving force at national level. It is currently directed by Sergio Escobar, while Luca Ronconi is in charge of the artistic side. The Piccolo Teatro has welcomed the greatest masters at national and international level, and acted as an ambassador for the Italian culture on the stages all over the world. According to the 1991 ministerial decree, the Piccolo Teatro has been included in the Union of Theatres of Europe and today we have the pleasure to give to the Piccolo Teatro of Milan our Universo Teatro Prize 2009, due to its past history and to the central role that it plays today in the theatrical landscape of our Country.