In the Italian reality Fondazione Teatro Due / Teatro Stabile di Parma is an atypical experience with regard to its geographical location, its legal status, its artistic path, its projectivity, its innovative ability and for its continuous research on new techniques and styles, but also for its generational exchange, for its support on Italian and European drama, for the enhancement of classical theater, the creation of interdisciplinary works, for its connection with Europe.
The Teatro Stabile has created a project for a structure that could stand as a moment of productive encounter between different artistic, methodological, market-based and audience-based systems.
The road traveled has lasted more than forty years: the group of artists that is the basis of the Compagnia del Collettivo – then transformed into the Teatro Stabile di Parma – grew up in the experience of the University Centres and Festival of the 60s, period in which these were real meeting and training places of the future main characters of the European theatre as Jerzy Grotowskij, Tadeusz Kantor, Julian Beck, Peter Stein to name a few.
In 1971 comes the official title, the Compagnia is born.
In 1980 the Agreement with the City of Parma entrusts the artists to the management and administration of the building Teatro Due to public property and establishes the first Italian example of collaboration between the public and the private in the field of dramatic theatre.
In 1983 Teatro Due is recognized by the then Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment as a Teatro Stabile di Produzione, “Theatre with public purpose and private responsibility.”
In 1985 the City of Parma approves the investment for the restoration of the spaces of the theater and in 1986 it entrusts the Teatro Stabile to the realization of the prose season of the city.
In 2001 Fondazione Teatro Due (consisting of Teatro Stabile di Parma, Parma Municipality and Fondazione Monte di Parma) is born. It develops an articulate productive activity carried out by the Ensemble stable of actors together to the artistic heritage of the Teatro Stabile di Parma.
Since 2015 Fondazione Teatro Due is a “Teatro di Rilevante Interesse Culturale” (in the italian Ministry of Culture’s designation)
Since 2016 is recognized as “Ente di Formazione” (educational institution) from the Regione Emilia – Romagna.
In the 2017 the Arena Shakespeare was inaugurated with the first summer theatrical season.