L’Arte della Commedia
The questions, doubts, responsibilities, constraints and weaknesses that Eduardo brings to the table affect us all, and that “Theater,” whether it is a theater company, a community or a small world, becomes a resonator of our relationship with power and the need to be heard and, above all, recognized. “Come to the theater Mr. Prefect! – says the head playwright Oreste Campese – In Theater the supreme truth has been and always will be the supreme fiction…”: it all starts here. How much can the distance and filter of theater, through fiction, help us deal with reality? The art of comedy, the extraordinary and brilliant work by Eduardo De Filippo is part of “Odd Days,” the collection that – from different angles – addresses the difficult issues of everyday life. Incredible is the strength and topicality of the text that brings us in a direct way to confront the mortification and censorship of culture.
Written in 1964 – ambiguous and at the same time farcical – it is a little-visited work, seemingly less explosive than the most famous masterpieces; instead, it is a masterful, wide-ranging and extraordinarily imperfect text, as imperfect is the human being in search of his identity, his right to exist, in short, in search of answers to those pressing and necessary questions that cannot wait any longer.
Playbill
by Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo adaptation and direction Fausto Russo Alesi
characters and performers (in order of appearance)
Oreste Campese, lead actor and company manager Fausto Russo Alesi
Veronesi, sentry David Meden
Palmira, innkeeper Sem Bonventre
His Excellency De Caro, prefect Alex Cendron
Giacomo Franci, his secretary Paolo Zuccari
Quinto Bassetti Filippo Luna
scenes Marco Rossi costumes Gianluca Sbicca music Giovanni Vitaletti lights Max Mugnai consultancy for stage movements Alessio Maria Romano
assistant director Davide Gasparro
production Teatro di Napoli – National Theatre, Fondazione Teatro della Toscana – National Theatre, Teatro di Roma – National Theatre, Elledieffe Duration 2 hours and 40 minutes including intermission