Sicily welcomes the arrival of 'theatre delivery' with actors performing on the street or courtyard outside private homes.

2020 has seen the streaming of live theatre become a widespread phenomenon in Italy, due to the constraints imposed by covid-19, however one theatrical company in Sicily is taking the concept of "home theatre" to new levels.

With theatres closed across Italy, and no sign of them opening any time soon, the initiative by Spazio Franco involves actors hopping on their bicycles and travelling around Palermo as a troupe on wheels, direct to your door.

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Here they will perform, entertaining people from the comfort of their balconies or courtyards, as part of a "delivery show" conceived by Spazio Franco project leader Giuseppe Provinzano and Babel Crew.

The shows, described as an alternative to streaming, come in response to the current "dark days" for theatre and out-of-work actors, reports Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

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Inspired by Ippolito Chiarello's "Barbonaggio" street theatre, the initiative is organised with Sicilian contemporary theatre scene Latitudini and Palermo Suona, with the patronage of Sicily's department of tourism, sport and entertainment.

Provinzano is currently seeking to recruit "actors, dancers, musicians, storytellers, singers, performers, street artists, without age limits, operating in Sicily" for paid theatre work, reports La Repubblica.

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The theatre is looking for 50 artists, with their own wheels ("bicycles, motorbikes, scooters, roller skates"), who can help people to enjoy theatre from their homes, in full compliance of covid-19 rules, over the Christmas season.

Photo La Repubblica