For Patrick Pistolesi, working behind a bar has always felt a bit like stepping onto a stage. With Dio c’è, he now gets to test himself in a different kind of performance altogether: theatre, this time as an actor. The show runs on Friday 6, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 February 2026 at Spazio Diamante in Rome. Pistolesi will appear on stage sipping a drink, and the audience will be invited to do the same, in a kind of symbolic bridge with Drink Kong, the cocktail bar he founded and runs.
From Theatre to Drink Kong and Back Again
Pistolesi’s first encounter with theatre came in a previous life, before bartending. Going on stage thrilled him, acting fascinated him, but things did not quite fall into place and life pushed him towards a different career path. Luckily, he had a second passion — the bar — and all the right instincts to turn it into something meaningful. Fast forward a few years and he founds Drink Kong, which quickly becomes one of the reference points for Roman mixology and beyond.
“Some stories never end,” sang Antonello Venditti, “they make long detours and then come back.” The same is true for Pistolesi and the stage. A series of coincidences led director, writer and actor Danilo Meriano to write Dio c’è and to shape one of the characters specifically around the Roman entrepreneur and bartender. Hence the invitation to return to theatre. The initial instinct was to say no: “I didn’t feel ready. Then we started reading, which turned into rehearsals, and rehearsals into a show. I accepted because exposing yourself on stage is a feeling that, once you experience it, you can’t really give up.”
Dio c’è: “Waiting for Godot, Roman Style”
Dio c’è is loosely inspired by the works of Samuel Beckett. The set depicts a desolate urban outskirts, littered with waste, suspended in a kind of timeless limbo. On stage are two characters: Legno (played by Danilo Meriano) and Er Cinese (Daniele Miglio). They talk while waiting for something — anything — that might give meaning to their existence on the margins of society, to their need for transcendence. The arrival of Lucky (Patrick Pistolesi) disrupts the balance and triggers a narrative shift that is both grotesque and poetic.
The play is accompanied by live music performed by Erik Martinez and Elena Sofia Girardi. And it is also, quite literally, watered with cocktails.
Patrick Pistolesi on Stage With His Cocktails
When one of the actors is a high-profile bartender, it is only natural to expect special attention to the drinks served in the theatre. And indeed, the foyer bar will host a dedicated Drink Kong takeover, with a menu created specifically for the occasion. With all due respect to theatre bars, the leap in quality will be significant — an interesting novelty in itself.
There is another distinctive twist: spectators will receive a ready-to-drink cocktail to take into the auditorium and enjoy whenever they wish. At one point the actors themselves will drink on stage, but the audience does not need to wait for that specific moment.
The idea, Pistolesi explains, is to “refresh a certain idea of theatre and present something less stiff, closer to what happens in major London theatres,” which among other things have focused on a more vibrant atmosphere to attract a younger and broader audience.
Tickets for Dio c’è
Dio c’è runs from 6 to 8 February 2026 at Spazio Diamante, Via Prenestina 230/B, Rome. All information, including booking and ticket purchases, is available on the official website.
Photo by Alberto Blasetti x Coqtail – all rights reserved
