'A jungle gym for artists,' outdoor theatre in Sudbury, Ont. on track for an August opening

When Alessandro Costantini describes the Refettorio , the upcoming outdoor theatre in Sudbury, Ont., he has food on his mind.

"It's a gathering place, a communal dining hall for the soul," he said.

Costantini is the artistic and managing director of both YES Theatre and Sudbury Theatre Centre.

Yes Theatre's latest venture occupies what was previously an empty lot in Sudbury's downtown, and will transform it into an outdoor 150-seat venue.

Costantini said he was inspired by Italian chef Massimo Bottura and his 2017 project in which he opened his own refettorio, or communal dining space, during the Milan Expo.

"He took over this, it was a church that was abandoned, that then became a theatre that was then abandoned," Costantini said.

"And he brought in some of Italy's greatest designers, and he transformed the space into this gorgeous dining hall."

After the dining hall was built, Bottura's non-profit organization, called Food for Soul, brought in world-class chefs who made meals for the city's vulnerable population. 

Costantini wants the Refettorio to be a similar gathering place.

"By nature of it being a downtown space there must be access for everyone who exists, and lives, and works, and plays and hangs out in our downtown."

Last April YES Theatre received a $750,000 grant from the province to help build the space, estimated to cost $2.8 million at that time.

Costantini said it is on budget and on schedule to open by early August.

Performances of Romeo and Juliet and Forever and Always: The Music of Shania Twain are already planned in that first month.

But Costantini said he wants the space to evolve beyond live theatre. He wants there to be everything from concerts, to classes and even open dining experiences at the space.