A theatre training school, one of a kind in Europe, the first university course in the world in "Integrated Theatre of Emotion", prestigious awards, workshops, exhibitions and much more. These are some of the most significant achievements of the Teatro Patologico Association (teatropatologico.com), which has been involved in connecting the theatre world with people with intellectual, and physical disabilities since 1990.

Conceived and founded by Dario D'Ambrosi, the Association constitutes an example of best practice in the Italian approach to the inclusion of people with disabilities. So much so, that it has been studied abroad and has become part of the rich program of events organised within the sphere of the Semester of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe through the play Gogol's Overcoat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUOr3lLYnxM), which was recently staged in Rome. Testimony to the importance of the work being carried out by its artists, the play has been chosen as the first to be staged at the Compagnia Stabile del Teatro, in a three-day program - from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 December 2021 - to immerse yourself in a story about diversity and the lack of acceptance.

“Gogol's Overcoat is a story about marginalisation - director Francesco Giuffrè explained - A man is not accepted until he appears, in the eyes of his colleagues, with a new and elegant coat instead of his, long worn out one ( …). The protagonist will do anything he can to conform, which marks the beginning of his end. "The Overcoat’ is a plea to stay unique, authentic, with our unique and authentic values and flaws, just like the unique and authentic actors of the Teatro Patologico”.

Strongly promoted by the Italian Presidency, the play further contributes to increasing the international scope of the Association and of the many projects it realises, the most important of all being the university course in "Integrated Theatre of Emotion", which is fully dedicated to people affected by physical and intellectual disabilities and was first conceived in 2016 from a collaboration with "Tor Vergata” University of Rome.

Precisely because of its importance and uniqueness, the course was presented at the United Nations headquarters in New York during the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as at the European Parliament in Brussels. Those meaningful moments were further enhanced by the prestige of the places holding them, both of which were also settings for the play Medea  interpreted by the actors of the Company.

Consequently, the involvement of the Teatro Patologico in the Semester of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe provides an additional element by our Country in developing a path aimed at enhancing, protecting, and guaranteeing the full enjoyment of human rights and all fundamental freedoms to people with disabilities.