Armando's Theatre

Armando Punzo was born in the province of Naples. He is sixty-six years old and has dedicated more than half his life to prison theater. He explains: "Naples had a very restrictive theatrical tradition, and I couldn't find a place for it, not even in the avant-garde experiences that existed in Italy at that time. So, at a certain point, after several trips and attempts, I found myself asking to enter the Volterra prison." He thus founded the Compagnia della Fortezza, made up of non-professional actors; the underlying principle is humanity: "I'm interested in humanity in all its forms; it's an extraordinary opportunity to question myself and others, to truly understand who we are. Applying this type of reasoning to the humanity of prison is something some people can't tolerate, in an institution that is often designed only to debase."

A bridge that breaks down walls and connects the inside with the outside, the prison with the outside world. Because—as Armando likes to say—for him, evil is "transparent": "You have to have the ability to look beyond. Going beyond in front of certain people has allowed me to find something else. Man has within himself both good and evil, but if we begin to recognize evil, a true revolution takes place."
For his long work, which he has carried out in Volterra since 1988 and which has now expanded, he was awarded this year the honor of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for having made his experience as a theater director and actor available to prisoners.

The stage becomes an opportunity to put the world's diverse humanity first and question certainties, doubts, fears, hopes, pains of the past, and desires for the future.
We learn that theater—like many other art forms—is not fiction, but a language for spreading innovation and speaks directly to real life. And the most powerful word in this language is that bridge that connects not only the prison with the outside world, but also reality with the dream of rebirth, which, if cultivated and shared, can come true.

Roberto Lerda
NP August/September 2025