Most visitors to Palermo come to see the rich remains of the city’s past – and they’re right to do so. Palermo was once one of the grandest cities in Europe – the centre of what John Julius Norwich refers to as “that flashing, endlessly-faceted jewel that was the culture of Norman Sicily” – and many of its treasures, including some of its finest, are still here to be seen. Now, they perhaps gain even greater lustre being seen in the context of a modern city to which time has been far from kind. But for all its problems – or maybe partly because of them – modern Palermo too has its riches. They are less apparent to the casual visitor, and certainly not likely to attract large numbers of tourists, but nevertheless they are well worth discovering. There’s a rich vein of creativity running through the old city, finding expression in various small theatres and musical venues. It’s one of the things that makes the city such an intriguing and rewarding place to spend time in.
One of these theatres is Teatro delle Balate, a small experimental theatre, established in 2007 in a slightly edgy part of the old city, directly opposite the decorative façade of a 17th century church, S. Annunziata delle Balate. Finding the theatre proved to be something of an adventure; attending a performance there, a real discovery.