In the mid-Seventies the Metastasio was the centre of the theatrical experience known to the history of the theatre as the Prato Laboratory of Luca Ronconi. This is when the Fabbricone space was born, a theatrical space made out of a historical industrial plant in Prato, which during the Eighties hosted a series of shows of international importance, created by such names as Peter Brook, Andrzej Wajda, Tadeusz Kantor, Otomar Krejca, Anatoli Vassiliev, Thierry Salmon.
Under the artistic direction of Massimo Castri, in 1998 the Entertainment Department formally recognised the Fondazione Teatro Metastasio as the Public Repertory Theatre of Tuscany. The Repertory Theatre has maintained its priority in the production, without closing in on itself, but searching among artists, institutions and private individuals for alliances and co-operation with which to carry on in-depth research. From this point of view, the commitment towards the "New Generations" has proved strategic through the Metastasio Ragazzi (Metastasio Youth), confirming the relationship with the TPO Company in an on-going residence in the theatre.
The other focal point of the Metastasio has always been the Theatre of Innovation. Oriented towards the relations of the theatre with visual arts, multimedia techniques and new technologies, since its first edition in 1999 the Contemporanea Festival project has been an incubator of new planning created specifically for spaces selected in various parts of the Province of Prato.
The Fondazione Teatro Metastasio at present manages three theatrical spaces: the Metastasio, an Italian theatre with stalls, four levels of boxes and the gallery, with seating for approximately 700 people; the Fabbricone made up of three tiers of seating for at most 360 people; the Fabbrichino, a structure made out of an industrial building adjacent to the Teatro Fabbricone, has since 2002 been a small theatre studio with 99 seats which welcomes youngsters, laboratories and shows produced for a limited public.
