L’invisibile che c’è with Ornella Muti at Teatro Manzoni, March 4 to 21, 2027

L'invisibile che c'è, the play by Antonio Grosso with Ornella Muti and directed by Enrico Maria Lamanna, is on at Teatro Manzoni, at Via Monte Zebio 14/C (00195 Rome), from March 4 to 21, 2027. The theater is in the Della Vittoria neighborhood, about 800 meters on foot from the Lepanto stop on Metro Line A. The schedule of individual performances and the prices by section are published by Teatro Manzoni on its official website, where you buy tickets from the show page. You can also buy them at the box office on Via Monte Zebio, open Monday from 15:00 to 20:00, Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00, Sundays and holidays from 11:00 to 13:00 and from 15:00 to 20:00. For information, the box office answers at 06 3223634 and on WhatsApp at 327 8959298.

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

A mother who can't come out of her grief for her son, a clumsy man who tries to bring a little light back to her, a young woman who arrives from the past: L'invisibile che c'è is a play about pain and memory, entrusted to one of the most famous Italian actresses of all time. Ornella Muti, a Roman, returns to her city for almost three weeks of performances, and on March 9, her birthday, she will be on stage at Manzoni.

L'invisibile che c'è at Teatro Manzoni: the dates at a glance

L'invisibile che c'è is on the bill at Teatro Manzoni in Rome from Thursday, March 4 to Sunday, March 21, 2027, for 18 days of programming, with Ornella Muti as the lead.

The dates

The opening is Thursday, March 4, 2027, and the last performance is Sunday, March 21. It's the typical Manzoni formula, which keeps companies on the bill for about three weeks: a long run that leaves room to pick the right evening.

The times

The show page gives the programming period. The schedule of individual performances, evening and afternoon, can be checked when you buy on the theater's website or by asking at the box office. It's worth checking before you set the date.

Contacts

The Teatro Manzoni box office answers by phone at 06 3223634, on WhatsApp at 327 8959298 and at info@teatromanzoniroma.it. It's open Monday from 15:00 to 20:00, Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00, Sundays and holidays from 11:00 to 13:00 and from 15:00 to 20:00.

Season tickets

L'invisibile che c'è is part of Manzoni's 2026/2027 theater season, and the show page points to the types of season ticket published by the theater: if you plan to come back several times during the season, that's the first thing to look at.

L'invisibile che c'è: what the show is about

L'invisibile che c'è tells the story of Anna, a woman who lives a prisoner of grief over the loss of her son, in an apartment suspended between reality and memory.

The apartment and the toy trains

Manzoni's presentation describes a home where the only sound is the noise of the son's toy trains. It's a simple, powerful image: the toys of a boy who is no longer there keep running on the tracks, and the mother can neither stop them nor let them go.

Alfonso

Next to Anna is Alfonso, clumsy but deeply human, who tries to bring light where shadow rules. He's the character who brings a different register into the story: the awkward tenderness of someone who wants to help and doesn't know how, among silences, illusions and fragile gestures.

The arrival of Sara

The turning point comes with Sara, the son's girlfriend. With her, the theater writes, the past bursts in like a caress and like an open wound. Two women united by the same love and the same absence find, in tears and in sharing, a fragile moment of truth.

The meaning of the title

The title says it all: the invisible one is the son who is no longer there, and who is there all the same, in every object in the house and in every word of the two women. The presentation sums it up as a story about absence that becomes presence, about pain that turns into memory and about friendship that tries to keep alive what can no longer be seen.

Grief on stage: a difficult theme, told with delicacy

L'invisibile che c'è takes on the hardest theme theater can choose, the death of a child, and does so, according to the presentation, through an intimate story made of silences and small gestures.

Three characters

The stage is built on few characters: the mother, the man who stays close to her, the young woman who arrives from the past. It's a contained structure that puts relationships at the center and leaves room for the actors, and in particular for the lead.

The tone

Grief, in the theater's words, turns everything into something uncertain, almost unreal. The text promises no easy consolations: it speaks of a fragile moment of truth, of a memory that becomes presence. It's a show to see with a willingness to listen, more than with the expectation of a plot full of twists.

Who it's for

Anyone who has lived through a loss will find a story in the theater that speaks of them, and it's best to know that before buying the ticket. For everyone else, it's a chance to see a film actress take on a dramatic role, built on nuance more than on effects.

Who Ornella Muti is: biography

Ornella Muti, the stage name of Francesca Romana Rivelli, was born in Rome on March 9, 1955, and is one of the most famous Italian actresses, with a career spanning more than 50 years of Italian and European cinema.

Family

She is the daughter of a journalist of Neapolitan origin and of Ilse Renate Krause, an Estonian sculptor. She has an older sister, Claudia Rivelli, also an actress, who in the 1970s played in photo-romances for several seasons, a world in which Ornella also worked.

Debut and stage name

She made her film debut at 14, in 1969, chosen by Damiano Damiani as the lead of La moglie più bella, inspired by the story of Franca Viola, the girl from Alcamo who in 1965 refused a reparatory marriage. Because an actress named Luisa Rivelli already existed, Damiani gave her a stage name taken from Gabriele D'Annunzio: Ornella is a character in La figlia di Iorio, and Muti comes from Elena Muti, the protagonist of Il piacere.

The 1970s

The most important encounter came in 1974, with Romanzo popolare by Mario Monicelli, next to Ugo Tognazzi. Then came Come una rosa al naso by Franco Rossi with Vittorio Gassman, La stanza del vescovo and Primo amore by Dino Risi, I nuovi mostri by Monicelli, Risi and Scola, nominated for an Oscar, and L'ultima donna by Marco Ferreri, with Gérard Depardieu.

The 1980s

With Ferreri she made Storie di ordinaria follia, from Charles Bukowski. With Adriano Celentano she acted in Il bisbetico domato and Innamorato pazzo, with Renato Pozzetto in Nessuno è perfetto and Un povero ricco, with Ben Gazzara in La ragazza di Trieste. In 1984 she is Odette in Un amore di Swann by Volker Schlöndorff, with Jeremy Irons, Fanny Ardant and Alain Delon. Then came Cronaca di una morte annunciata by Francesco Rosi, Codice privato by Citto Maselli, 'o Re by Luigi Magni and Il viaggio di Capitan Fracassa by Ettore Scola.

From the 1990s to today

She works with John Landis in Oscar, un fidanzato per due figlie, next to Sylvester Stallone, returns with Monicelli in Panni sporchi in 1999, then with Francesca Archibugi, Asia Argento and Eleonora Giorgi. In 2012 she is in To Rome with Love by Woody Allen, in 2017 in the Rai series Sirene. In 2022 she hosts the opening night of the Sanremo Festival with Amadeus.

Awards

In her career she has received a Targa d'oro at the David di Donatello awards, two Grolle d'oro, three Globi d'oro, three Ciak d'oro plus a special Ciak d'oro, a Pasinetti Award at the Venice Festival and two Nastri d'argento as best lead actress.

Ornella Muti, an international career

Ornella Muti is one of the few Italian actresses to have built a career across Europe and the United States, working with directors such as Volker Schlöndorff, Peter Greenaway, Mike Figgis, Woody Allen and John Landis.

Princess Aura

Her best-known role internationally is probably Princess Aura in Flash Gordon, Mike Hodges' 1980 science fiction film, which became a cult favorite. People who have only seen her in Italian comedies often don't know this.

France and Spain

Very well known in France, she often appeared on French television, as an actress and as an advertising spokesperson. In Spain she made, among other films, L'amante bilingue by Vicente Aranda, next to Javier Bardem. In 1994 the American magazine Class named her the most beautiful woman in the world.

A famous refusal

In 1981 she turned down the lead role in Solo per i tuoi occhi, the 12th James Bond film, later given to Carole Bouquet, because the production had not hired her trusted costume designer, Wayne A. Finkelman. It's an anecdote that says a lot about an actress's loyalty to her collaborators.

The author and the direction

The text of L'invisibile che c'è is by Antonio Grosso, the direction by Enrico Maria Lamanna: two signatures that bring a contemporary drama to the stage, written with its lead in mind.

Enrico Maria Lamanna and Ornella Muti

It isn't the first time Lamanna has directed Ornella Muti in the theater. In 2010 he directed L'ebreo by Gianni Clementi, with her as the lead and Pino Quartullo in the cast. L'invisibile che c'è therefore renews a partnership of more than 15 years between the actress and the director.

A contemporary text

Antonio Grosso signs a new text, not an adaptation: a brave choice for a theater that keeps its shows on stage for three weeks, and that relies for this on the strength of the lead and on word of mouth to bring the audience in.

A curiosity about L'invisibile che c'è with Ornella Muti at Teatro Manzoni, March 4 to 21, 2027

The best curiosity concerns a date. Ornella Muti was born in Rome on March 9, 1955, and March 9, 2027 falls right in the middle of the run at Manzoni. Unless the performance calendar says otherwise, the actress will celebrate her birthday on stage, in her city, in front of a Roman audience. For anyone attached to her cinema, choosing that evening has a special flavor.

The second curiosity is the name. Francesca Romana Rivelli became Ornella Muti out of necessity: Damiano Damiani, who chose her at 14 for La moglie più bella, couldn't use the surname Rivelli because an actress, Luisa Rivelli, already existed. The director drew on D'Annunzio's books: Ornella from La figlia di Iorio, Muti from Elena Muti, the protagonist of Il piacere, the novel of aristocratic Rome at the end of the 1800s. A literary stage name, born in Rome, for a Roman actress.

The third curiosity is a crossing in the same week. The director Enrico Maria Lamanna directed Ornella Muti in 2010 in L'ebreo by Gianni Clementi, with Pino Quartullo. From March 3 to 7, 2027 Quartullo is on stage at Teatro Parioli Costanzo with Antonio Cornacchione and Alessandra Faiella in Basta poco: the two theaters, a few kilometers apart, host two of the leads of that show on the same days.

Teatro Manzoni, the theater on Via Monte Zebio

Teatro Manzoni is at Via Monte Zebio 14/C, in the Della Vittoria neighborhood, and is a multipurpose hall created in the mid-1980s in place of a neighborhood cinema, the Cinema Montezebio.

Origins

The season presentation gives 1985 as the year of foundation, by Carlo Alighiero and Pietro Longhi. The tourism portal of the City of Rome places the opening as a theater in 1986. Today Manzoni is run by Cooperteatro 85 and the artistic director is Pietro Longhi.

A hall for many languages

Manzoni hosts theater, dance, music, film series and lectures. Alongside the theater season there are the series Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee directed by Alessandro Vaccari, Manzoni Danza and the family shows of Un teatro da favola.

Services

The City's tourism portal lists for Manzoni a bar, a coat check, restrooms for people with disabilities, accessibility and a dog sitting service, rare in Roman theaters.

Something nobody tells you about L'invisibile che c'è with Ornella Muti at Teatro Manzoni, March 4 to 21, 2027

What goes unsaid is that L'invisibile che c'è asks something particular of the audience. The name of Ornella Muti recalls the light cinema of the 1980s, the comedies with Celentano and Pozzetto, the beauty of magazine covers. This show is something else: a contained drama about grief, made of silences. Anyone who goes to the theater expecting the Muti of Innamorato pazzo will find an actress who, at 72 just during the run, chooses a role of pain and memory. That is exactly the reason to go.

The second thing concerns the calendar. With 18 days of programming, Manzoni offers many dates, but the times of the individual performances have to be checked one by one on the website or at the box office. The weekend matinees suit anyone who doesn't like getting home late in winter. The weekday evening performances are generally less crowded.

Third thing: the neighborhood. Manzoni is outside the historic center, but in the evening parking in the Della Vittoria neighborhood is hard. Metro Line A to Lepanto and about 10 minutes on foot remain the most reliable solution.

How to get to Teatro Manzoni

The closest metro station to Teatro Manzoni is Lepanto, on Line A, about 800 meters on foot from Via Monte Zebio 14/C: about 10 minutes of walking on flat ground.

By metro

From Lepanto you go north through Prati to the Della Vittoria neighborhood. From Termini, Line A toward Battistini reaches Lepanto in a few minutes. For evening performances, check the time of the last run on the Atac website.

By bus

The neighborhood is served by several surface lines: lines and evening times should be checked on the Atac route planner on the same day, because they can change.

By car and taxi

Street parking in the evening is scarce: if you come by car, allow extra time and watch out for the zones reserved for residents. For people traveling with elderly companions, a taxi to the entrance on Via Monte Zebio is the most comfortable option.

The advice I give you for seeing L'invisibile che c'è with Ornella Muti at Teatro Manzoni, March 4 to 21, 2027

The advice is to rewatch, before going to the theater, one of the films in which Ornella Muti worked with the great directors: Romanzo popolare by Monicelli, Un amore di Swann by Schlöndorff or Il viaggio di Capitan Fracassa by Scola. Arriving at Manzoni with that memory lets you measure the distance between the young actress of then and the performer of today, and better appreciate the choice of a dramatic role.

The second piece of advice concerns the date. With almost three weeks of performances there's time to choose: in our view the second week, when the show has found its balance in front of the Roman audience, is the best moment. Anyone who wants a special evening can aim for March 9, the actress's birthday, checking first that there is a performance.

Third piece of advice: a central seat in the front rows. In a text made of silences and fragile gestures, facial expressions count as much as words, and Manzoni is a compact hall where from the front rows you catch every nuance. For choosing seats, the reference is the theater's box office.

Another well-known fact, yet rarely cited

It's well known that Ornella Muti has been one of the most photographed actresses in the world, with famous covers such as the one on Time, and that in 1994 an American magazine named her the most beautiful woman in the world. Much less remembered is the seriousness of her path as an art-house actress: Marco Ferreri, Francesco Rosi, Citto Maselli, Volker Schlöndorff, Peter Greenaway. With Maselli's Codice privato she earned a nomination for best actress at the European Film Awards, the European Oscars.

A second well-known and rarely cited fact concerns her debut. Damiani's La moglie più bella, the film that launched her at 14, told the story of Franca Viola, the Sicilian girl who in 1965, at just 17, was the first Italian woman to refuse a reparatory marriage. Ornella Muti's career therefore begins with a film of civic commitment, far from the diva image that would later be stitched onto her.

Finally, about Manzoni: the choice to keep companies on the bill for about three weeks, according to the artistic direction, has allowed many shows to build a stable bond with the audience. For a new text like this one, which needs word of mouth, it's the ideal formula.

The right photo to take at L'invisibile che c'è with Ornella Muti at Teatro Manzoni, March 4 to 21, 2027

The right photo is taken in front of the entrance of Teatro Manzoni, on Via Monte Zebio, with the poster of the show: the official poster shows the face of Ornella Muti under a red band with the title in white letters. It's a neighborhood theater, far from the monuments, and the image tells of a residential Rome of early 1900s buildings that visitors rarely see.

During the show, no photos or filming: in a drama built on silences, a lit screen breaks the concentration of the actors and the audience. The right moment, if the staff allows it, is the final bow, with the company at the front of the stage.

For those who arrive early, the second photo is taken in Prati, along the walk from the metro: the tree-lined avenues and the Umbertine facades, in the light of the March streetlamps, prepare you for the show better than any postcard. Anyone with time in the afternoon can go as far as Castel Sant'Angelo for a shot on the Tiber before sunset.

The Della Vittoria neighborhood and the surroundings

Teatro Manzoni is in the Della Vittoria neighborhood, north of Prati, a residential neighborhood far from the main tourist routes.

Prati and Castel Sant'Angelo

Going south you enter Prati. Farther down, toward the Tiber, is Castel Sant'Angelo. The page on Prati and Borgo helps you plan an afternoon before an evening performance.

Foro Italico and Ponte Milvio

Across the Tiber, to the north, are Foro Italico and the Olympic Stadium. On match nights the traffic in the northern quadrant changes completely, and it's worth checking the calendar before choosing the date. Farther north is Milvian Bridge, with its venues open late.

A Rome of the Romans

An evening at Manzoni is also a way to experience Rome as its residents live it, in a neighborhood of apartment buildings, schools and local shops. For a Roman actress coming home, the setting is fitting.

Some important events that happened here in history

The history of Teatro Manzoni begins in the mid-1980s, when Carlo Alighiero and Pietro Longhi turned the former Cinema Montezebio into a theater, in the Della Vittoria neighborhood. The theater gives 1985 as the year of foundation, the City's tourism portal gives 1986 as the year of the opening. The sources differ by a year, but both speak of four decades of activity. The name of the management company, Cooperteatro 85, preserves the year the project was born.

The most recognizable trait of its history is the choice of long runs, with companies on the bill for about three weeks: a formula that, according to the artistic direction, has allowed many artists to emerge and to create a stable bond with the audience. The second is the growth of cultural initiatives: Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee, born from an idea of Carlo Alighiero and directed by Alessandro Vaccari, have become evenings of readings, music, images and debates.

In the 2026/2027 season Manzoni opened with Gin Game with Pambieri and Villoresi, hosted the Manzoni Danza evenings in December and, between January and February, a light comedy and a Shakespeare. L'invisibile che c'è arrives in March, as the dramatic title of late winter.

Who has passed through L'invisibile che c'è with Ornella Muti at Teatro Manzoni, March 4 to 21, 2027

Through the stage of Teatro Manzoni, for the series Scrittori in scena, have passed authors such as Antonio Scurati, Maurizio de Giovanni, Gianrico Carofiglio, Corrado Augias, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Melania Mazzucco, Serena Dandini, Stefano Massini and Fabio Volo. The theater's list also includes Romano Prodi, Mario Monti and Nicola Gratteri. It's a sign of a curious audience, used to moving from theater to debate.

Through Ornella Muti's career have passed some of the greatest names in cinema: Damiano Damiani, Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi, Marco Ferreri, Ettore Scola, Francesco Rosi, Carlo Verdone, Woody Allen, John Landis, Volker Schlöndorff, Peter Greenaway. And actors such as Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio Gassman, Adriano Celentano, Renato Pozzetto, Gérard Depardieu, Jeremy Irons, Alain Delon, Javier Bardem.

From March 4 to 21, 2027 Ornella Muti, the director Enrico Maria Lamanna and the author Antonio Grosso pass through Via Monte Zebio, with Anna, Alfonso and Sara. And, invisible, the son everyone talks about passes through too: the character who never comes on stage and who fills every moment of the show.

Accessibility and practical information

The City of Rome's tourism portal lists Teatro Manzoni as accessible to people with disabilities and equipped with dedicated restrooms. For the placement of reserved seats it's best to call the box office at 06 3223634 before buying.

With teenagers

L'invisibile che c'è is a drama for adults, dealing with the loss of a child. It has no explicit content, but the theme is delicate: in our view it suits teenagers from 15 on, ideally prepared with a conversation before and after the show.

Arriving on time

The Manzoni foyer is small: it's best to arrive a quarter of an hour early, leave your coat at the coat check and take your seat without rushing. In a show that begins in silence, coming in late weighs on the whole hall.

Where to eat before or after the show

Between the Della Vittoria neighborhood and Prati you find trattorias, pizzerias and neighborhood bars, frequented more by residents than by tourists.

Before the evening performance

With a dramatic show, many prefer to eat dinner afterward, to have time to talk about it. If you eat before, choose a light, early dinner, in one of the places along the route from the metro.

After the matinee

The weekend matinees leave the evening free: an aperitivo in Prati on the way out and dinner in a trattoria close the day well.

Manzoni before and after L'invisibile che c'è

L'invisibile che c'è is one of the titles of the 2026/2027 season at Teatro Manzoni, which alternates theater, cultural series, dance and family shows.

Before: comedy and Shakespeare

In the previous months Manzoni staged a French comedy of errors, Fiore di cactus with Gianfranco Jannuzzo and Benedicta Boccoli, and, in February, A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare directed by Daniele Salvo. L'invisibile che c'è changes register and brings drama to the hall.

Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee

Alongside the theater season, the series Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee bring authors, journalists and scholars to the stage in evenings with readings, music and images: the calendar is published on the theater's website.

Families

For the youngest there is the series Un teatro da favola, curated by Pietro Clementi, with shows designed for children and their families.

March in Rome, at the theater

March is the month when Rome starts to come out of winter: the days get longer, but the evenings stay cool.

The weather

For the walk from Lepanto to Via Monte Zebio you still need a coat, and often an umbrella: the theater's coat check means you don't have to keep them in the hall.

A busy week

In the days of the opening the city offers a lot of theater: Basta poco with Cornacchione, Quartullo and Faiella at Parioli Costanzo, Michela Giraud at Brancaccio, the stand-up of Pierluca Mariti at Ambra Jovinelli. The drama at Manzoni is the most intimate offering of that week.

Frequently asked questions about L'invisibile che c'è

When is L'invisibile che c'è on at Teatro Manzoni?

L'invisibile che c'è with Ornella Muti is on at Teatro Manzoni in Rome from March 4 to 21, 2027. The times of the individual performances can be checked on the theater's official website when you buy or at the box office on Via Monte Zebio.

Who is in the cast of L'invisibile che c'è?

The lead of L'invisibile che c'è is Ornella Muti. The text is by Antonio Grosso and the direction by Enrico Maria Lamanna, who had already directed the actress in 2010 in L'ebreo by Gianni Clementi.

What is L'invisibile che c'è about?

L'invisibile che c'è tells the story of Anna, a mother locked in grief over the loss of her son, and Alfonso, who tries to bring light back to her. The arrival of Sara, the son's girlfriend, opens a fragile moment of truth between two women united by the same absence.

How much do tickets cost?

The ticket prices for L'invisibile che c'è are published by Teatro Manzoni on its official website, where you also find the types of season ticket. The box office answers at 06 3223634 and on WhatsApp at 327 8959298.

How do you get to Teatro Manzoni?

Teatro Manzoni, at Via Monte Zebio 14/C, is reached by Metro Line A, Lepanto stop, and about 800 meters on foot. In the evening parking in the Della Vittoria neighborhood is hard: for anyone who has trouble walking, a taxi is the most comfortable choice.

Is Ornella Muti Roman?

Yes, Ornella Muti, whose birth name is Francesca Romana Rivelli, was born in Rome on March 9, 1955. March 9, 2027 falls during the run of L'invisibile che c'è at Teatro Manzoni.

Is the show suitable for teenagers?

L'invisibile che c'è is a drama about grief over the loss of a child, with no explicit content. At Teatro Manzoni it's an offering for adults. In our view it suits teenagers from 15 on, with a conversation before and after.

The final advice on L'invisibile che c'è

A Roman actress who has worked with Monicelli, Ferreri, Scola and Woody Allen chooses, on the threshold of 72, a role of pain and memory, in a neighborhood theater that keeps its shows on stage long enough to let them grow. The advice is to choose a date in the second week, or March 9 if there is a performance, book a central seat in the front rows and arrive with the willingness to listen that a text like this asks for.

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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