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Chernobyl: long live the Soviet Union

Chernobyl: long live the Soviet Union

Originally written for Fermata Spettacolo. It is difficult to summarise in a few lines the colossal and multifaceted work by Bellini and Sinisi, staged at Teatro Fontana in Milan for most of last November. Chernobyl is a complex, layered production, capable of enticing the audience with inventions that are as

Narration and Meta-narration in 'The Trilogy of the City of K.'

Narration and Meta-narration in 'The Trilogy of the City of K.'

Originally published in Italian for Fermata Spettacolo. ‘The space of the performance, in fact, does not exist. Its physical dimension resides solely in the objects that appear on stage.’ Thus, in 2002, Luca Ronconi described his work on What Matisse Knew in a conversation with Aldo Viganò. Then director of

A ‘maranza’ madman for a cartoon King Lear

A ‘maranza’ madman for a cartoon King Lear

Originally published in Italian for Fermata Spettacolo. An enormous pile of stacked armchairs forms a baroque throne, at whose summit sits a violent, swaggering King Lear (Elio De Capitani). The walls on either side, like tapestries suspended in mid-air, depict swords with skull-shaped hilts. They are symbols of

“Talk to Me Like the Rain”: the disorder of solitude

“Talk to Me Like the Rain”: the disorder of solitude

Originally published for Fermata Spettacolo. Wednesday 18 October, 10:15 pm. The performance has ended, yet before leaving the auditorium the audience is invited to cross a stage strewn with objects: records, vinyls, chairs, bedside tables, wooden planks, a rocking horse, a wicker basket. A landfill of memories which, as

“Throw Me a Rose”

“Throw Me a Rose”

Originally published for Stratagemmi. On the occasion of FringeMi 2023, the bare walls of the Materia co-working space are transformed into the stage for a beauty contest. Playing one of the contestants, actress Lucia Raffaella Mariani enters on tiptoe. She fixes the audience with an insistent gaze; a forced,

The Voice of Those Left Behind

The Voice of Those Left Behind

Originally written in Italian for Stratagemmi. Link to the original article In mapping the contours of this fifth edition of FringeMi, a recurring thread emerges across the festival’s official programme: the artist staging themselves. Most of the works use the first person, bringing the performer’s biographical identity onto

The city on stage

The city on stage

Editorial for Stormi. Trajectories on Associate Artists, issue 3, 2022 Issued by Piccolo Teatro di Milano ‘Houses remain silent’ — in Russian Molčat Doma — is the image chosen by the Minsk-based band of the same name to describe its relationship with the city and with the past. One thinks of