Il Badante with Paolo Ruffini at Teatro Brancaccio, December 23, 2026

Il Badante, the new show written and performed by Paolo Ruffini, is on stage at Teatro Brancaccio, at Via Merulana 244 (00185 Rome), on Wednesday, December 23, 2026 at 21:00, with a running time of 110 minutes. The theater is a walk from the Vittorio Emanuele stop on metro line A, or on lines 16, 75, 714, 717 and C3, which stop on Via Merulana. The full prices published by the theater range from 27 euros in second balcony B to 45 euros in Poltronissima A. Tickets are sold at the theater's box office and on the presale network authorized by the organizers, reachable from the official page of the show.

Language: performed in Italian. No English version or English surtitles are announced.

Written by Paolo Ruffini and Claudia Campolongo, who directs and plays the piano on stage, and produced by Vera Produzione, Il Badante is presented by the theater as the ideal continuation and adult reverse shot of Il Babysitter. The subtitle gives the theme: when you learn to let go, something stays forever. On stage, next to Ruffini, four elderly guests tell their lives.

Il Badante at Brancaccio: date, time, prices

Il Badante with Paolo Ruffini is on stage at Teatro Brancaccio on Wednesday, December 23, 2026 at 21:00, with a single performance and a running time of 110 minutes, according to the theater's official page for the 2026 2027 season.

The date

One evening only, December 23, the day before Christmas Eve. Starting at 21:00 and running 110 minutes, you get out a little before 23:00.

The credits

Il Badante is written by Paolo Ruffini and Claudia Campolongo. It is a show written and performed by Paolo Ruffini, with Claudia Campolongo at the piano and directing. The production is by Vera Produzione.

The prices

The theater publishes these full prices: Poltronissima A 45 euros, Poltrona A 40 euros, Poltrona B 35 euros, first balcony A 35 euros, first balcony B 31 euros, second balcony A 31 euros, second balcony B 27 euros. The sales network's fees may be added to the total.

What Il Badante is: the show

Il Badante is, according to the presentation by Teatro Brancaccio, a new intense and delicate chapter that invites reflection on the value of time, on the emotional legacy we leave and on the difficult art of letting go.

The big questions

With a language that weaves together irony, tenderness and poetry, the show runs through the big questions of existence: what remains of us in the people we love, how to face separation without losing yourself, what the deepest meaning of life is.

Four elderly guests

On stage, next to Ruffini, four elderly guests become witnesses of life. With their stories they offer intimate and universal reflections on love, memory, sexuality and relationships. Their names are not published on the show's page.

The romantic will

Each guest shares a personal romantic will, made not of material goods but of emotions and lived experience. It is the image that holds up the whole evening: an inheritance that is not divided at the notary's office.

From Il Babysitter to Il Badante: the adult reverse shot

Il Badante was born as a continuation of Il Babysitter, Ruffini's show with three children on stage, scheduled at the same Brancaccio on December 21 and 22, 2026. The theater calls it the adult reverse shot of that success.

Two ages

In Il Babysitter it was the children who explained the world to the adults. In Il Badante it is the elderly who tell what remains of a life. The two ages of fragility, placed side by side, give a precise meaning to Ruffini's theatrical project.

Three evenings in a row

Those who want can see both shows on three consecutive evenings: Il Babysitter on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22, Il Badante on Wednesday 23. It is rare for a theater to line up, in the same week, the two faces of a single project.

The same team

Both shows are written by Ruffini with Claudia Campolongo, who directs them and plays the piano live, and both are produced by Vera Produzione.

Paolo Ruffini: the biography

Paolo Ruffini was born in Livorno on November 26, 1978. An actor, TV host, director, screenwriter, voice actor and comedian, he has worked in music television, holiday-season comedy films, directing and a long stretch of theater work on inclusion.

Livorno and the early years

After classical high school in Livorno he works as an entertainer in holiday villages and, for two years, as a municipal clerk. He debuts in TV commercials and in Paolo Virzì's Ovosodo. In 2001 he founds the film association Nido del Cuculo, with which he organizes film series and produces shows.

Television

In 2002 he wins MTV's Cercasi VJ competition, where he hosts for more than three years. He works with Marco Giusti on Stracult, Matinée and Soirée on Rai 2. From 2011 he hosts Colorado on Italia 1. In 2014 he presents the David di Donatello awards with Anna Foglietta. Between the end of 2025 and spring 2026 he hosts Zelig On on Italia 1 with Lodovica Comello.

Cinema

He acts in Natale a Miami, Natale a New York, Virzì's La prima cosa bella, C'è chi dice no, Maschi contro femmine, Natale col boss, L'agenzia dei bugiardi and Modalità aereo. He debuts as a director in 2013 with Fuga di cervelli, one of the most-watched Italian films of that year. He then directs Tutto molto bello, Ragazzaccio and Rido perché ti amo. Among his most recent films as an actor are Poveri noi (2025) and Non è la fine del mondo (2026).

Voice acting

He has lent his voice to Lucignolo in Enzo D'Alò's Pinocchio, to Yax in Zootropolis and to Balthazar Bratt in Despicable Me 3.

Ruffini in the theater: Up&Down, PerdutaMente and Vera

Since 2018 Paolo Ruffini has been staging Up&Down, a comic happening with the company Mayor Von Frinzius directed by Lamberto Giannini, starring actors with Down syndrome and an autistic actor. It is the project that changed his path.

From stage to cinema

The show toured the major Italian theaters for two years. From it came the documentary Up&Down, un film normale, co-directed with Francesco Pacini and awarded the Kineo at the 75th Venice Film Festival, and the book La sindrome di Up.

PerdutaMente

In February 2022 Ruffini returns to cinema with PerdutaMente, a docufilm on Alzheimer's directed with Ivana Di Biase. The theme of memory that is lost and of bonds that remain, treated there in documentary form, is the same one that Il Badante brings to the stage through the stories of its guests.

Vera and Up Impresa Sociale

In 2020 he founds Vera, a creative agency for theatrical production, talent management and communication, and the production company Vera Film. In 2023 he creates Up Impresa Sociale, dedicated to events and shows on the theme of inclusivity. As a theater director he signs the shows of Vincenzo Schettini, Max Angioni, Herbert Ballerina, Giuseppe Cruciani and others.

Recent theater

Among his shows as an actor are Io doppio, on stage since 2004, Quasi amici, Din Don Down, Il Babysitter and, in 2025, Sapore di mare, il musical, in the role of Cecco the photographer.

Claudia Campolongo: text, direction and piano

Claudia Campolongo co-writes the text of Il Badante with Ruffini, directs it and plays the piano live on stage, as she already did in Il Babysitter.

A triple role

Author, director and musician on the same evening: it is a position that lets you steer the rhythm of the show from the stage. In a show built on the stories of nonprofessional guests, having the direction at the piano means being able to slow down, to underline, to leave room for a pause.

The piano as a soundtrack

Those sitting in the front rows of the stalls see the piano at work up close. On an evening of memories, live music is the thread between one story and the next.

A curiosity about Il Badante with Paolo Ruffini at Teatro Brancaccio, December 23, 2026

The curiosity concerns the calendar. In the last week before Christmas, the Brancaccio lines up the two faces of a single project: on Monday, December 21 and Tuesday, December 22 Il Babysitter, with three children on stage, and on Wednesday 23 Il Badante, with four elderly guests. Those who go to the theater three evenings in a row see the same author look at life from both extremes, childhood that discovers and old age that remembers. The theater's presentation says it with a precise word: reverse shot, as in cinema, when the camera turns around and shows the other side of the scene.

The second curiosity concerns the word in the title. A badante, in everyday language, is someone who takes care of an elderly person. Here too Ruffini reverses the perspective, as he did with the babysitter: it is the elderly who take care of the audience, leaving them their stories as an inheritance.

The third concerns the date. December 23, the day before Christmas Eve, is for many Roman families the evening of preparations. A show about the inheritance of affections, on that evening, arrives at the moment when generations gather around the same table.

Teatro Brancaccio: the hall and the sections

Teatro Brancaccio, at Via Merulana 244, has had its current form since 1937: a wide stalls area, two levels of balconies and two foyers, for about 2,000 seats at the time of the inauguration. It is one of Rome's great halls of popular entertainment.

How the hall is divided

For Il Badante the theater publishes the prices of seven sections: in the stalls Poltronissima A, Poltrona A and Poltrona B. Above, the first and second balconies, each divided into A and B. The booking system on the official page also lists other stalls categories, such as Poltronissima Gold and Gold Vip, for which no price is shown.

Where to sit

In a show of stories, with guests who speak and a piano on stage, closeness matters. In our judgment the stalls are the best choice, between Poltronissima A and Poltrona A: you catch the expressions and the pauses. The first balcony is a good compromise for those who want to spend less. The second suits those looking for the lowest price.

Via Merulana complex

Next to the main hall is the Brancaccino, a theater of about 100 seats dedicated to contemporary drama and children's theater. The complex also houses the Accademia STAP Brancaccio, the Brancaccio Musical Academy and the Brancaccio Danza center. The history of the venue is gathered on the page about Teatro Brancaccio.

Something nobody tells you about Il Badante with Paolo Ruffini at Teatro Brancaccio, December 23, 2026

What few people say is that Il Badante is not a comedy show in the sense of Colorado or the Christmas films. The presentation speaks of irony, but also of tenderness and poetry, and of the great themes of separation and emotional legacy. Those who know Ruffini only from television will find a more intimate register, close to that of Up&Down and PerdutaMente. It is worth knowing, and choosing who to go with.

The second point concerns the audience. The guests on stage are elderly and, according to the presentation, also talk about sexuality and relationships. It is a show designed for adults. With very young teenagers it is worth thinking it over, while for those with elderly parents or grandparents it can be an evening to share, different generations in the same row.

The third concerns the box office. It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 16:00 to 19:00, and December 23 is a Wednesday: those who want to buy in person can do so in the days before or on the afternoon itself. On Mondays the box office is closed.

How to get to Teatro Brancaccio for Il Badante

The Brancaccio is on Via Merulana, in Esquilino, less than a kilometer from Termini station and a few minutes' walk from the Vittorio Emanuele stop on metro line A: one of the best-connected areas of Rome.

By metro

The most convenient stop is Vittorio Emanuele, on line A. From Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II you reach Via Merulana in a few minutes. Alternatively there is Cavour, on line B, with a longer walk. From Termini you can walk via Santa Maria Maggiore.

By bus and tram

The theater lists the stops Merulana/Brancaccio and Merulana/Mecenate, served by lines 16, 75, 714, 717 and C3, and the stop Labicana/Merulana, with lines 3, 53, 75, 85, 87, 186, 571, 810, C3 and the night line N10, useful for getting home after 23:00.

Taxi and car

The nearest taxi stands listed by the theater are Largo Brancaccio, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, Via Principe Amedeo, Via Giolitti and Via Venosta. The theater does not list any affiliated parking: in Christmas week, in Esquilino, it is best to leave the car at home.

The advice I give you for visiting Il Badante with Paolo Ruffini at Teatro Brancaccio, December 23, 2026

My advice is to go with someone from another generation. A show in which four elderly people tell what they leave as an inheritance, made of irony and tenderness, is better experienced sitting next to a parent, a grandparent or an adult child. The evening of the day before Christmas Eve, when families gather for the holidays, is the right occasion.

The second piece of advice concerns seat and timing. The stalls are best, to catch the faces of the guests and Claudia Campolongo's piano. The show starts at 21:00 and the Brancaccio's rules do not allow entry once it has begun: it is better to be in the theater around 20:30, leave your coat and umbrella at the coat check and sit down calmly.

The third concerns the time before. The Brancaccio is between Santa Maria Maggiore and Piazza Vittorio: those who arrive around 19:00 have time for a walk to the basilica, lit up in the Christmas days, and a quick dinner in the area. And those who loved Il Babysitter the evening before will find in Il Badante the second half of the story.

Tickets for Il Badante: box office and presale

Tickets for Il Badante are bought at the box office of Teatro Brancaccio, at Via Merulana 244, or on the authorized presale network reachable from the Buy button on the show's official page, where there is also a booking form by date and section.

The box office

The box office is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday from 16:00 to 19:00. It is closed on Mondays. On Sundays it opens only during show hours, if there is a performance.

Discounts

The theater's rules state that reduced tickets are valid only with a document proving entitlement to the discount. The applicable discounts are those set by the production and indicated by the box office.

One evening only

With a single performance, the day before Christmas Eve, and an audience that often buys tickets as a gift, those who want the stalls should not wait until December.

Another well-known fact, yet rarely mentioned

It is well known that Paolo Ruffini is a face of comedy television, from Colorado to Zelig On. It is less often remembered how much of his work in recent years is devoted to fragility. In 2017 he directed Resilienza, a documentary inspired by the true story of a boy, Alessandro, who was facing a serious illness. Since 2018 he has been staging Up&Down with actors with disabilities. In 2022 he co-directed PerdutaMente with Ivana Di Biase, on the theme of Alzheimer's. Il Babysitter and Il Badante are the theatrical sequel to this path: childhood and old age told by those who live them.

The second fact rarely cited concerns his career as a producer. With Vera, founded in 2020, Ruffini has become one of the most active directors and producers in Italian comic theater, putting on stage many talents who came from the web. The December 23 show is a Vera production: behind it is a small theater company built by an actor.

The third concerns Rome. In 2008 Ruffini took part in Portami tante rose.it, the show conceived by Maurizio Costanzo with Enrico Vaime. Costanzo was also the director of the Brancaccio from 2007 to 2010.

House rules at the Brancaccio

The rules of Teatro Brancaccio ask you to arrive before the start, do not allow entry once the show has begun, and forbid photos and filming during the performance and eating in the hall.

Seats

You occupy only your assigned seat, without moving to empty seats. The house staff may ask for your ticket at any time.

Items not allowed

Umbrellas go to the coat check. You cannot bring in plastic bottles larger than half a liter, glass, helmets, professional cameras, tripods and selfie sticks. Food and drinks are consumed only at the bar.

Phones

Photographing and filming the show is forbidden even with a cell phone. With nonprofessional guests telling their own lives, it is also a matter of respect.

The right photo to take at Il Badante with Paolo Ruffini at Teatro Brancaccio, December 23, 2026

You do not photograph in the hall: the rules forbid it, and in a show of personal stories the rule makes even more sense. The right photo is taken outside, before or after.

The first is in front of the Brancaccio's entrance on Via Merulana, with the show's poster and the curved facade of the theater lit up, which in December evenings glows with lights. If you go to the theater with a parent or grandparent, it is the photo to keep: two generations in front of a show that is about exactly this.

The second is for those who arrive early. Via Merulana runs straight between Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano: looking north, the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore closes the perspective. On the evening of the day before Christmas Eve, with the holiday lights, it is one of the most beautiful views of Esquilino.

The third, in daylight, is the Porta Alchemica in the gardens of Piazza Vittorio: worth the detour for those who arrive in the afternoon.

Accessibility of Teatro Brancaccio

Teatro Brancaccio states that it has no architectural barriers for access to the stalls: there is a ramp, an area for wheelchairs and an accessible restroom on the ground floor, reachable from the foyer. The balconies are not wheelchair accessible, because there are no elevators.

Reserved seats

For performances organized by the operator the theater reserves, while available, four seats in the stalls for people in wheelchairs, with one seat for a companion, and two seats for people with walking difficulties, bookable at the box office. For visiting companies it is best to ask for confirmation when booking.

Sensory disabilities

For spectators with visual and hearing disabilities the theater reserves seats in the stalls on request. Those with a service dog can ask to enter with the animal by writing to the box office. For a show also meant for an older audience, this is information to keep in mind.

Some important events that took place here in history

The Brancaccio was born in January 1916 under the name Teatro Morgana, built against the embankment of the gardens of the palace of the Brancaccio princes. The family name and the theater's name remain linked: the nearby Palazzo Brancaccio is part of the same story.

The turning point came in 1937, when the hall took the form it still has today, with two foyers, a wide stalls area and two balconies, and the name Teatro Brancaccio. In 1985 it became the seat of the Fondazione dell'Opera di Roma, which stayed until 2000. Then the City of Rome entrusted the direction to Gigi Proietti until 2007. Maurizio Costanzo's management followed until 2010 and that of Stage Entertainment Italia until 2012. Since September 2012 the artistic direction has been Alessandro Longobardi's, with Viola Produzioni.

In recent years the theater has become a cultural hub, with the Brancaccino, the acting, musical and dance academies and, since 2014, the Spazio Impero with nine rehearsal rooms. In December 2026 its program combines concerts, such as that of Mario Biondi on December 14, and Ruffini's two shows in Christmas week.

Around the Brancaccio: Via Merulana and Esquilino

Teatro Brancaccio is in Esquilino, between Santa Maria Maggiore, the Colosseum and San Giovanni in Laterano. Those who arrive an hour early have around them one of the densest areas of history in the city.

Two basilicas and a museum

Via Merulana connects two major basilicas, Santa Maria Maggiore and St. John Lateran. On the same street are Palazzo Merulana, with its collection of 20th-century art, and a little farther the Auditorium of Maecenas. To the west you descend into the Monti district.

Where to eat

Via Merulana and nearby streets have neighborhood bars and restaurants for a quick meal before 20:30. Around Piazza Vittorio is multiethnic Esquilino, with cuisines from half the world. The Nuovo Mercato Esquilino tells its character, but it is a daytime market. Monti, a 15-minute walk away, has trattorias and wine bars. On the day before Christmas Eve, reservations are essential.

After the show

The show ends a little before 23:00, and on the evening of the day before Christmas Eve metro line A and the night lines are the easiest way home. At 11 at night it is best to head back to the metro or a taxi without detours: the walk through the neighborhood is more pleasant before the show.

Who has passed through Il Badante with Paolo Ruffini at Teatro Brancaccio, December 23, 2026

Some of the biggest names in entertainment have passed across the Brancaccio's stage. The theater itself recalls Totò, Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi and Gigi Proietti among the actors, and Fabrizio De André, Louis Armstrong and Jimi Hendrix among the musicians. Variety, Roman cinema, the singer-songwriter tradition and rock had a home here before musicals and television comedy.

For a show about inheritance, the name to remember is Gigi Proietti, who worked at the Brancaccio as an actor and as director from 2000 to 2007 and who left Roman popular theater a legacy that can still be felt. After him came Maurizio Costanzo, with whom Ruffini himself had worked in 2008.

Through Ruffini's career pass Paolo Virzì, who made him debut in cinema, Marco Giusti, Belén Rodríguez and Diana Del Bufalo at Colorado, Lillo and Greg, Frank Matano, Lamberto Giannini and the actors of the Mayor Von Frinzius, Ivana Di Biase. On December 23, on the stage of Totò and Proietti, come Paolo Ruffini, Claudia Campolongo and four elderly guests with their romantic will.

The day before Christmas Eve in Rome

On December 23 Rome is in the thick of the holidays: shops open late, lights on, families arriving from out of town for Christmas. For the lights, nativity scenes and events of the season, see the page dedicated to Christmas in Rome.

The weather

December evenings are cool and often damp. The theater asks you to leave umbrellas at the coat check: on rainy evenings, allow a few extra minutes at the entrance. A warm coat and comfortable shoes for the walk from Piazza Vittorio are enough.

A day in Esquilino

Those with time can devote the afternoon to Santa Maria Maggiore and the Monti district, then have dinner in the area and walk to the theater. It is the simplest way to spend the day before Christmas Eve without a car and without rushing.

Frequently asked questions about Il Badante at the Brancaccio

When is Paolo Ruffini's Il Badante on stage in Rome?

Paolo Ruffini's Il Badante is on stage at Teatro Brancaccio in Rome on Wednesday, December 23, 2026 at 21:00, at Via Merulana 244. It is a single performance and the show runs 110 minutes, so you get out a little before 23:00.

How much do tickets for Il Badante at the Brancaccio cost?

For Il Badante, Teatro Brancaccio publishes full prices from 27 euros in second balcony B to 45 euros in Poltronissima A. Poltrona A costs 40 euros, Poltrona B and first balcony A 35 euros, first balcony B and second balcony A 31 euros. Sales fees may be added.

What is Il Badante about?

Paolo Ruffini's Il Badante is about the value of time, emotional legacy and the art of letting go. On stage four elderly guests tell of love, memory, sexuality and relationships, sharing a romantic will made of emotions and lived experience.

What is the relationship between Il Badante and Il Babysitter?

Il Badante is presented by Teatro Brancaccio as the ideal continuation and adult reverse shot of Il Babysitter. Both are written by Paolo Ruffini and Claudia Campolongo and produced by Vera Produzione. At the Brancaccio, Il Babysitter is on stage on December 21 and 22.

Who is on stage with Paolo Ruffini?

In Il Badante, next to Paolo Ruffini, there are four elderly guests and Claudia Campolongo, who plays the piano live and directs. The names of the guests are not given on the show's official page.

Where do you buy tickets for Il Badante?

Tickets for Il Badante are bought at the box office of Teatro Brancaccio, open Tuesday to Saturday from 16:00 to 19:00, or on the authorized presale network reachable from the Buy button on the show's official page.

How do you get to Teatro Brancaccio?

Teatro Brancaccio is at Via Merulana 244, a few minutes' walk from the Vittorio Emanuele stop on metro line A. Lines 16, 75, 714, 717 and C3 run along Via Merulana. At the Labicana/Merulana stop there is also the night line N10, handy for getting home.

The final advice on Il Badante

One evening only, the day before Christmas Eve, a comedian who has learned to leave the stage to others and four elderly people who tell what remains of a life: in our judgment Il Badante is the right show for those looking for an evening that makes you laugh and think at once, perhaps next to a person of another generation. My advice is to buy a stalls seat early, arrive at the theater around 20:30, keep your phone in your pocket and, if possible, also see Il Babysitter the evening before: the two halves of the story are better understood together.

Article written by the editorial team of Tour Leader Pro, contact them for Private/Corporate/V.I.P. Tours and Experiences.

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