Ernesto Maria Ponte at Teatro Cilea, Reggio Calabria: “Il diverticolo” 2026

Teatro Francesco Cilea · Reggio Calabria, Costa Viola, Calabria

14 November 2026

On Saturday 14 November 2026 at 8:45pm Palermo comedian Ernesto Maria Ponte brings “Il diverticolo” (The Diverticulum) to Teatro Francesco Cilea in Reggio Calabria: a cabaret and live music show he wrote with Salvo Rinaudo and Daniele Billitteri, performed with the A-Social Band. Its subject is health and the Italian health service, from unlikely medical tests and odd diagnoses to prescription charges and endless queues. It opens the subscription series of “Cambio Stagione 2026-2027”, the season run by Officina dell'Arte under artistic director Peppe Piromalli. The show is in Italian. Tickets on Ciaotickets cost from 18 euros (third-tier boxes) to 33 euros (front stalls), plus booking fees.

Saturday 14 November: the show that opens the subscription series

“Il diverticolo” is on at 8:45pm on Saturday 14 November 2026 at Teatro Francesco Cilea, on Corso Garibaldi. The poster lists it as show 01 of the 2026/2027 subscription series run by Officina dell'Arte, the Reggio theatre company led by Peppe Piromalli, which is celebrating ten years of activity.

The season is called “Cambio Stagione” (Change of Season) and, according to the September launch, includes nine subscription shows, three shows outside the subscription and two special events. After Ponte the programme continues on Friday 11 December with “La sorpresa di matrimonio” and on Saturday 19 December with “Nemici come prima”, starring Francesco Procopio. Piromalli says the common thread is laughter: people who come to the theatre, he explained, also need to relax.

What “Il diverticolo” is about

The diverticulum in the title is the small pouch that can form in the wall of the intestine, and the poster shows a cartoon version of one. The show is about health, or rather the fear of getting ill and everything that happens once you enter the health system. Ponte draws on his own experiences and speaks for everyone who, health card in hand, has to deal with prescription charges, bookings and endless waiting.

In the presentation of the Palermo premiere the family doctor becomes an oracle that is hard to decipher and booking an appointment turns into an ordeal. Hypochondria, health fads and the chase for eternal youth are also targets. The organiser calls it “a therapeutic experience with no prescription needed”. The show is performed in Italian.

The Palermo premiere and the A-Social Band

The script is by Ernesto Maria Ponte with Salvo Rinaudo and Daniele Billitteri. The show premiered on 13 November 2025 at Teatro Agricantus in Palermo, with weekend performances until 21 December, more dates in January 2026 and a new run on weekends in May 2026.

On stage Ponte alternates monologues and songs with the A-Social Band, which underlines, comments on and sometimes mocks what he says. In Palermo the band featured Corrado Nitto on piano, Davide Puccio on bass, Tony Greco on guitar and Vincenzo Castello on drums; the line-up for the Reggio date has not been announced in detail.

Who is Ernesto Maria Ponte

Ernesto Maria Ponte was born in Palermo on 24 November 1968 and trained in the theatre workshop run by Gigi Proietti. From the early 2000s he appeared more and more on TV and in films, often as a character actor in comedies by fellow Sicilians: “Il 7 e l'8” with Ficarra and Picone (2007), “Un mondo sotto social” by I Soldi Spicci (2022) and “So tutto di te” by Roberto Lipari (2023). He also acted in Emma Dante's “Via Castellana Bandiera” (2013) and in the soap opera “Agrodolce”.

He is no stranger to the Cilea: with Officina dell'Arte he has already staged “sBANDAti”, a comic journey through Italian pop songs with the same band. Presenting the season, Piromalli cited him as an example of an artist who arrived in Reggio without being well known and won over the audience.

Tickets, seating areas and subscription

Tickets are sold on Ciaotickets, the official box office for the season, as e-tickets: you show them on your phone at the door or print them at home. Advance prices are 33 euros in the poltronissima (front stalls), 28 in the poltrona (stalls), 26 in the central boxes, 23 in the side boxes and 18 in the third-tier boxes, plus booking fees. Ciaotickets notes that seats 4 and 5 in side boxes 1 to 7 and 19 to 25 have a restricted view.

Italian culture cards (Carta della Cultura Giovani, Carta del Merito and Carta del Docente) are also accepted. The show is part of the “Cambio Stagione” subscription, priced from 160 to 200 euros depending on the seat. For information, Officina dell'Arte can be reached on +39 333 469 7412.

Teatro Cilea

Teatro comunale Francesco Cilea is named after the composer of “Adriana Lecouvreur”, who was born in Palmi. With about 1,500 seats it is the largest theatre in Calabria. It was built as Reggio was rebuilt after the 1908 earthquake, backed by minister Giuseppe De Nava and mayor Giuseppe Valentino, and opened in 1931; its exterior lines echo classical architecture.

Today's auditorium, horseshoe-shaped with three tiers of boxes and an upper gallery, was redesigned after the Second World War and reopened on 25 February 1964 with Verdi's “Il Trovatore”. The first floor of the building houses the Pinacoteca civica, Reggio Calabria's municipal art gallery.

Getting there and what to do in the centre

The theatre is on Corso Garibaldi, Reggio's main street, pedestrianised in its central stretch, opposite Palazzo San Giorgio, the town hall. Reggio Calabria Centrale railway station is in Piazza Garibaldi, at the southern end of the Corso, and you can walk from there. If you drive in on the A2 motorway you will need to park outside the pedestrian area: the sources do not mention any parking reserved for the theatre.

Before the show there is time for a walk along the Lungomare Falcomatà, the seafront promenade that runs parallel to the Corso and looks across the Strait. At the northern end of the Corso, in Piazza De Nava, the National Archaeological Museum holds the Riace Bronzes: visit in the afternoon after checking opening times. For dinner, see our list of businesses in Reggio Calabria.

Frequently asked questions

When is “Il diverticolo” on in Reggio Calabria?

On Saturday 14 November 2026 at 8:45pm, at Teatro Francesco Cilea on Corso Garibaldi.

How much are tickets for Ernesto Maria Ponte at the Cilea?

From 18 euros in the third-tier boxes to 33 euros in the front stalls (poltronissima); in between are the stalls (28), central boxes (26) and side boxes (23). Booking fees are extra.

Where can I buy tickets?

On Ciaotickets, the official box office for the season, as an e-ticket you show on your phone. Italian culture cards (Carta della Cultura Giovani, Carta del Merito, Carta del Docente) are accepted.

Is the show part of the subscription?

Yes, it is the first of the nine subscription shows in Officina dell'Arte's “Cambio Stagione 2026-2027”. The subscription costs from 160 to 200 euros depending on the seat.

What is “Il diverticolo” about?

It is a comedy show with live music about health and the health service: tests, diagnoses, prescription charges, bookings and hypochondria, drawn from Ponte's own experiences. It is performed in Italian.

Who is on stage with Ernesto Maria Ponte?

The A-Social Band. In the Palermo performances it featured Corrado Nitto (piano), Davide Puccio (bass), Tony Greco (guitar) and Vincenzo Castello (drums).

How do I get to Teatro Cilea?

The theatre is on Corso Garibaldi, opposite Palazzo San Giorgio; from Centrale station you can walk along the Corso. The central stretch is pedestrianised and the sources do not mention dedicated parking.

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