Powered by REF is a project by Romaeuropa Festival dedicated to the new generations of the Italian contemporary scene: a space designed to support artists under 30 in the early stages of their research across theatre, performance, and hybrid languages. Each year it selects three emerging projects, offering mentorship, residencies, and concrete opportunities for growth and exchange. In the 2026 edition, the programme renews its commitment to intercepting radical visions, unconventional formats, and new artistic sensibilities. The project is realised in collaboration with Carrozzerie | n.o.t, with residencies co-produced with Twain and Settimo Cielo, and in partnership with ATCL / Spazio Rossellini, Teatro Biblioteca Quarticciolo, 369gradi srl, and Cranpi. The scenic fragments of the selected projects, presented within the Anni Luce section of Romaeuropa Festival at the Mattatoio, represent the first restitution of this process.
The scenic excerpts of the selected projects, presented within the Anni Luce section of Romaeuropa Festival at Mattatoio, represent the first public outcome of this artistic journey.
Elegia di un cinghiale ferito is an intimate and unflinching monologue that reconstructs the relationship between a teenager and an adult man. A first love marked by power, manipulation, and ambiguity. Ten years later, Matteo Di Somma attempts to give shape to pain and to question the boundary between desire and violence, memory and trauma. The narrative unfolds through words, music, and video, in a visionary journey that moves between a forest path, a cinema ticket, a Marlene Kuntz record, and a toilet as a place of waiting. Fragments of life are pieced back together into a ruthless yet poetic elegy, where irony intertwines with drama. A magnifying glass turned toward the past, which, despite the passing of time, continues to pulse.
Matteo Di Somma, an actor and writer from La Spezia, brings to the stage an intimate and painful monologue, an exploration of memory and the traces left by first love. Born in 1996, he discovered theatre through his encounter with SCARTI, collaborating on projects involving students and people with disabilities. After his first experiences with Kronoteatro, he graduated in 2023 from the Carlo Goldoni Theatre Academy, where he worked with artists such as Sotterraneo, Stefano Cordella, Giuseppe Emiliani, and Giorgio Sangati. He later deepened his physical and theatrical research through Le parole del corpo (“The Words of the Body”), a masterclass led by Michela Lucenti at ERT.
Violetta Ghersina, from Genoa, was born singing in 2000. While studying at art high school, she discovered theatre and became captivated by it, finding a space where she could bring together all her interests: costume design, set design, music, singing, acting, and even a touch of craftsmanship. She graduated from the Teatro Nazionale di Genova in 2022 and completed her master’s degree there in 2023. She has worked under the direction of Carlo Orlando, Elisabetta Pozzi, and Roberta Torre. She continued her studies at ERT, focusing on movement dramaturgy under the guidance of Michela Lucenti. She is currently studying Electronic Music at the Niccolò Paganini Conservatory in Genoa, a path that led her to curate the sound design for The Other Direction, an exhibition by Laura Sicignano and Franziska Greber.
