Tiresias has seen everything. Man and woman, mortal and immortal, struck blind and gifted with prophecy — and yet, somehow, never quite understood. In the second edition of Clashing Classics, this ancient figure steps into the present: divided across three cities, three languages, three stages, searching for a wholeness that keeps slipping away.
Tiresias Never Made It to New York is a single performance unfolding simultaneously in Avignon, Milan and Berlin on 28–29 May 2026. Conceived as one shared dramaturgy across distance, the production connects les rencontres du Chapeau rouge, PACTA. dei Teatri and multicultural city e.V. through live streaming, real-time surtitles in four languages, and a scenography that makes physical and virtual presence coexist on stage.
1. The Co-Production Concept
At its centre stands Tiresias, the mythic seer who has lived as both man and woman, who has “seen everything” yet remains condemned to incomprehension. Rather than three independent productions, the work is a shared dramaturgy, a unified narrative that exists across distance — one single story unfolding simultaneously in three theatres.
Tiresias becomes the connecting thread between the three cities: a single consciousness divided into three bodies, three languages, three spaces and three different times. Through live dialogue, visual echoes and shared timing, the three stages interact continuously thanks to the connection through live streaming. This experimental performance unifies the physical presence of the actors with the virtual presence of the actors acting on distant stages.
The four languages (French, Italian, German and English) underline the difference and the distance to build a new language: the theatre’s one. The result is not three plays but one living performance that expands beyond its physical limits to become a network of presences and languages unfolding at the same time in three spaces. Tiresias embodies our fragmented contemporary condition, multiple, displaced, yet striving for unity.
The character of Tiresias is freely inspired by the homonymous character in The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot, thereby creating an allusive atmosphere. The play’s dramaturgy is based on three interpretations of Tiresias’ character, shaped by three different linguistic and cultural perspectives, each capable of giving rise to a distinct, yet shared performance.
2. The transnational experience
The performance Tiresias never made it to New York is built on an integrated audiovisual system connecting the three theatres in real time. Each stage hosts live performers, some projections showing the other venues and multilingual surtitles for immediate comprehension. An interactive holographic projection introduces an oneiric layer where images, objects and presences from distant stages appear and vanish.
This combination of live action, projection and holographic illusion creates a hybrid scenography in which physical and virtual bodies coexist and boundaries blur. Sound and light are synchronized across the three locations, while minor resynchronizations are embraced as expressions of distance. Far from being decorative, technology functions as a dramaturgical device, transforming separation into connection and enabling one collective performance shared across borders.
PRODUCTION: les rencontres du Chapeau rouge (Avignon-France), PACTA. dei Teatri (Milan-Italy), multicultural city e.V. (Berlin-Germany) co-founded by the European Union.
DRAMATURGY: Paolo Bignamini, Monika Dobrowlanska
ADAPTATION: Paolo Bignamini
STAGE DIRECTION: Helen Landau (Avignon), Annig Raimondi (Milan), Monika Dobrowlanska (Berlin)
DIRECTION ASSISTANT: Elisabetta Miracoli (Milan)
VIDEO: José Joilan (Avignon), Fulvio Michelazzi (Milan), Yukihiro Ikutani, Katja Skladmann (Berlin)
SET DESIGN: José Joilan (Avignon), Fulvio Michelazzi (Milan), Yukihiro Ikutani, Katja Skladmann (Berlin)
COSTUMES: Nefeli Moustakas /Constance Bradburn (Avignon), Nir Lagziel (Milan), Katja Skladmann (Berlin)
LIGHTS: José Joilan (Avignon), Fulvio Michelazzi (Milan)
SOUND: José Joilan (Avignon), Maurizio Pisati (Milan)
Live Streaming and Audiovisual Production: Lorenzo Mosna with the collaboration of Alex De Micheli and Emanuele Prestileo, IULM University.
Surtitles: IULM University
WITH: Anaïs Gabay, Martina Ribera Saavedra, Patrick Séminor (Avignon), Anna Germani, Annig Raimondi (Milan), Alex Lee (Berlin)
Project assistant: Valentina Citterio (Avignon University)
TraNet project coordinator: Paola Ranzini (Avignon University)
The first edition kicks of in…
Get ready to experience European theatre like never before with the TraNET Festival—a revolutionary celebration of classic plays, contemporary vision, and international collaboration. Picture this: three cities, three theatres, and three unforgettable productions, all connected by a single festival that brings Europe together.
In the first year of the two-year TraNET Festival, three timeless European classics are being reimagined for the modern stage by theatre companies in Milan, Avignon, and Berlin. These aren’t just revivals—they’re bold, fresh takes on the works that have shaped European theatre, seen through the lens of today’s world, exploring contemporary urgencies.
● In Milan, PACTA dei Teatri will present Luigi Pirandello’s The Rules of the Game, adapted and directed by Paolo Bignamini for an unusual triangle: Riccardo Magherini (Leone), Annig Raimondi (Silia) and Alessandro Pazzi (Guido). This gripping drama about identity, deception , and human nature gets a contemporary twist that promises to challenge and provoke.
● In Avignon, Les Rencontres du Chapeau Rouge will produce Slave Island, an adaptation of Marivaux’s The Island of Slaves by the English actress Catherine Clive. Directed by Helen Landau, this exploration of power and inequality will be performed in English, giving a sharp, modern perspective to today’s struggles for justice and equality.
● In Berlin, multicultural city e.V will bring to life Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Fear Eats the Soul, under the direction of Monika Dobrowlańska. This poignant story about love, prejudice, and loneliness will resonate with audiences now more than ever.
And here’s where it gets truly groundbreaking: these three productions won’t just be confined to their home stages. Thanks to TraNET’s innovative approach, all three plays will be live-streamed simultaneously across Europe. With real-time multilingual surtitling, the spectators seated in the stalls of a theatre in Milan, Avignon, or Berlin , will be part of one connected audience, sharing in the same stories while enjoying the sound and prosody of the performances intheir original languages.
But the magic doesn’t stop there. In the festival’s second year, the three theatre companies will come together for a daring new co-production inspired by T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. Rather than a direct adaptation, this original creation will draw from the poem’s complex themes and evocative imagery, weaving a multilingual and multi-dimensional theatrical experience. Each theatre will bring its unique perspective to this ambitious collaboration, resulting in a groundbreaking work that redefines the boundaries of live performance.
The TraNET Festival isn’t just a series of plays—it’s a celebration of Europe’s common cultural heritage, a showcase of the power of theatre to unite us across borders while exploring shared topics, and a glimpse into the future of live performance. Join us for this one-of-a-kind journey through language, culture, and the timeless art of storytelling.
