Rijeka is a city with a complex history, marked by deep political, cultural, and identity-related divisions. A border city and a contested territory, it has endured occupations, processes of forced Italianization, the wounds of war, mass exodus, and, later, the consequences of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. Here, languages, cultures, and identities have continued to engage, clash, and coexist.
In this context, the Rijeka Theater has preserved this complexity over the years, maintaining a fragile yet necessary dialogue between Italian and Croatian cultures, transforming the stage into a space for cultural exchange and survival. 
“What would happen if Pirandello’s six characters spoke in Croatian and asked an Italian theater company to listen to their story? This question is the starting point for the play,” explains Rifici. On stage, a company from the Dramma Italiano is preparing to celebrate its anniversary by staging a Pirandello play. But the director feels the need to go further: theater cannot limit itself to preserving the past; it must challenge it; it must open the windows and let in a European, contemporary, restless breeze. Pirandello must speak to the present, stepping out of his own monumentality.”