The Venice Biennale said Wednesday that Italian playwright, director and stage actress Emma Dante will be awarded its lifetime achievement golden lion during its 2026 International Theatre Festival in June.
    Palermo-native Dante "has brought Sicily to the forefront, reinvigorating the great legacy of Luigi Pirandello, Leonardo Sciascia and Andrea Camilleri, as well as Ciprì & Maresco or Franco Scaldati, boldly pursuing not only a unique experimentation with language, but also bringing the power of theatre to the vexatious and painful themes that have always seemed to denote her homeland," the Biennale said.
    The Biennale said Willem Dafoe, Director of its Theatre Department, had proposed Dante for the award.
    It said its theatre Silver Lion would go to 27-year-old Greek Albanian director Mario Banushi.

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