The "L'Asina sull'Isola" theatre company came into being in 1996 following the meeting between two artists and their common professional experience gained in more than ten years of experience in the fields of spoken and figure theatre at European level. Though initially its medium was conceived as free multimedial play, the company adopted the technique of shadow theatre as its principal means of expression.

Katarina Janoskova has a background in central European figure theatre; she graduated in 1991 from the Academy of Dramatic Arts, DAMU, in Prague and acquired professional experience as an actor and entertainer in Great Britain, Spain and Italy.

Paolo Valli's artistic development is closely linked to his association with the Teatro Gioco Vita theatre company in Piacenza with whom he matured wide-ranging experience in the theatre of shadows during the long period going from 1978 to 1994.

The "L'Asina sull'Isola" theatre company has been involved in children's theatre using as its main expressive means the theatre of shadows. The company constantly seeks new influences. It might once create a performance exploring the relationship between object and shadow, another time between shadow and painting, yet another discovering the points of contact between shadow and music or shadows and words. There has been wide-ranging experimentation over the years but shadows will always be the starting point.