Willem Dafoe , American actor, has been appointed new artistic director of the Theatre sector of the Venice Biennale for the two-year period 2025-2026. The decision was made by the Board of Directors of the Biennale, chaired by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco .
“It is an honor to announce the appointment of Willem Dafoe as director of the Biennale Teatro,” says Pietrangelo Buttafuoco . “The theater represents the original home of his brilliant career. Founder of the legendary Wooster Group in 1977, in the perfect control of his scenic body he has always demonstrated discipline, knowledge, passion and a deep awareness of the theater. I look forward to witnessing the Festival that he will build as artistic director and, from his position as absolute master, to see the young talents of the College Teatrale grow in art.”
Willem Dafoe expressed his joy: “I was first surprised and then delighted to receive Pietrangelo Buttafuoco ‘s invitation to direct the International Theatre Festival of the Venice Biennale 2025-26. Despite my fame as a film actor, I was born in the theatre. The theatre has shaped and shaken me. I am a creature of the stage. I am an actor. The theatre has educated me in art and in life. I have worked with the Wooster Group for twenty-seven years, collaborating with great directors such as Richard Foreman and Bob Wilson . My programme for the Theatre will be shaped by my personal journey, exploring the essence of the body.”
Dafoe will join Tim Burton ’s “Beetlejuice” cast to open the 81st Venice Film Festival (August 28-September 7).
The Theatre Biennale was born as an autonomous sector of the Venice Biennale in 1934, after the Visual Arts (1895), Music (1930) and Cinema (1932). It was directed by important figures from the world of culture and entertainment, including Renato Simoni , Luca Ronconi , Franco Quadri , Carmelo Bene and Lluís Pasqual .
Since 1998, by ministerial decree, the Theatre sector has been programmed annually together with the other sectors of live arts (Music and Dance). Since then, the Theatre Biennale has been led by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti .
Peter Sellars (1998-2002), Massimo Castri (2003), Romeo Castellucci (2004), Maurizio Scaparro (2005), Maurizio Scaparro (2006-2009), Álex Rigola (2010-2016), Antonio Latella (2017-2020), Stefano Ricci and Gianni Forte (2021-2024).
Willem Dafoe , an actor with an experimental profile and unorthodox choices, began his artistic journey at the University of Wisconsin peacefully.
At the age of 19, Milwaukee joined Theatre X (1975–1977), one of the first research groups in the USA , influenced by the Living Theatre and Grotowski . In Europe , in 1976, he was at the famous Mickery Theatre in Amsterdam , where he participated in Ritsaert ten Cate ‘s show Folter Follies .
A New York, ha continuato la sua carriera teatrale in modo significativo.
Elizabeth LeCompte e gli attori Ron Vawter, Kate Valk, Jim Clayburgh e Peyton Smith hanno co-fondato il gruppo teatrale The Wooster Group, con il quale ha lavorato per oltre vent’anni (dal 1977 al 2003). Le loro produzioni hanno esplorato un mix singolare di linguaggi e testi, dai classici alla controcultura americana, coinvolgendo numerosi artisti.
Amir ElSaffar. Insieme al Wooster Group, Willem Dafoe collabora con registi che hanno profondamente…
Ha influenzato la scena internazionale.
Richard Foreman, drammaturgo, regista e teorico della ricerca, noto anche sulla scena europea e fondatore di un teatro ‘ontologico-isterico’, lo chiamerà per Miss Universal Happiness (1985) e The Idiot Savant (2009).
Robert Wilson lo vorrà per The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic (2011) e, insieme a Mikhail Baryshnikov, in The Old Woman, tratta dai racconti del poeta russo Daniil Kharms (2013).
Infine, per Romeo Castellucci,
Willem Dafoe interpreterà Il Velo Nero del Pastore, tratto dall’enigmatica storia di Hawthorne (2016). Nel 2016 ha partecipato alla Biennale Teatro nella sezione masterclass con un workshop dedicato all’attore. Durante la sua carriera cinematografica ha ricevuto numerosi premi internazionali ed è stato nominato per quattro volte agli Academy Awards (l’ultima nel 2019 per At Eternity’s Gate di Julian Schnabel, per cui ha vinto la Coppa Volpi al Festival del Cinema di Venezia nel 2018).
Golden Globes (l’ultima volta nel 2024 per Poor Things, il film che ha vinto il Leone d’Oro alla Mostra del Cinema di Venezia).