BRAIN STORM. TEMPESTA IN TESTA Italy, Romania and Germany explore young people’s psychological well-being through Shakespeare
To be loved or not to be loved? This is the dilemma that has always troubled younger generations, but in a present increasingly marked by anxiety, isolation and uncertainty, it risks turning into genuine psychological distress. Born from a European project bringing together Italy, Germany and Romania, the international production Brain Storm. Tempest in the Mind draws on Shakespeare and theatre to address the storm raging inside today’s youth.
Following a series of artistic workshops involving young people aged 18 to 25 across the three countries, the production, created by Teatro Stabile del Veneto – Teatro Nazionale, fringe ensemble and Teatrul Național Marin Sorescu din Craiova, with a text by Marta Dalla Via and directed by Frank Heuel, will have its world premiere on 12 September at Teatro Camploy in Verona as part of the Estate Teatrale Veronese festival.
On stage, alongside the choir composed of participants from the Padua workshop, will be Chiara Bartolucci, Alessandro Berardi, Stefano Callovi, Filippo Franco, Giulia Lenzi and Karina Stanciu, together with professional actors Laura Maria Babaian and Mihnea Presură, as well as DJ Sofi Rex, who will perform live on stage. Following its Verona premiere, the production will be presented at the Theater im Ballsaal in Bonn, Germany, on 18 and 19 September, at the National Theatre of Craiova in Romania on 26 September, and will then return to Italy at Teatro Maddalene in Padua from 4 to 7 February 2027, featuring the participants of the workshops held in each country.
"Shakespeare’s theatre thrives on hatred, great conflicts, extreme passions, blood and power, and we have no interest in taming it," write Frank Heuel and Marta Dalla Via in their production notes. "If you are looking for comfort, grab a blanket, a hot drink and keep scrolling. But if you want to find a safe place to rehearse for a better life, theatre is perfect, Shakespeare is perfect."
Brain Storm. Tempest in the Mind is part of STORM – Shakespearean Theatre for Outlasting Resilience in Mental Health, a project combining theatre and psychological well-being, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme and developed by Teatro Stabile del Veneto (IT), Teatrul Național Marin Sorescu din Craiova (RO), fringe ensemble (DE) and Fondazione Fitzcarraldo (IT), with the Department of General Psychology of the University of Padua (IT) as an associated partner.
Between September 2025 and March 2026, theatre—and Shakespearean imagery in particular—served as a tool to explore emotions, relationships and identity. Throughout the workshops, young participants contributed directly to the creative process, and some became part of the final production itself, maintaining a living connection between workshop and stage and transforming real experiences into theatrical language. Through body, voice and shared interaction, participants developed listening skills and self-awareness in a dynamic interplay between personal experience and imagination, offering a contemporary perspective on the relationship between youth, emotions and society.
In line with the sustainability policies of Teatro Stabile del Veneto, from the earliest stages of the project all partners committed to adopting sustainable practices, including the implementation of a monitoring and reporting framework designed to guide and assess the environmental and social impacts of the project’s activities.