Teatro di narrazione

Last updated

Teatro di narrazione (narrative theatre) is a style of theatre, developed in Italy in the later decades of the 20th century, in which there are no actors or action, but only a "narrattore" (a neologism for narrator-actor, or "narractor") who tells the story in narrative form.

Contents

Overview

During the show, the narrattore often sits on a chair without moving. There are no props or costumes, nor any lights beyond those necessary to let the audience see the narratore: sometimes the theatre itself is lit so that the narrattore can see the faces of the audience to address them directly.

The genre generally said to have begun with Mistero Buffo (Comic Mystery) by Dario Fo in 1969, though Fo has traditionally used mime to physicalize the actions and the entire cast of characters when performing in this style. This influenced two generations of narrattori, notably Marco Paolini, Marco Baliani and Laura Curino; and later Ascanio Celestini, Davide Enia and Alessandro Ghebreigziabiher.

Although Mistero Buffo reworked medieval stories, the teatro di narrazione has a particular focus on investigating the "dark holes" of Italian modern history. Corpo di stato by Baliani concerns the murder of Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades in 1978; Curino's Olivetti concerns Camillo and Adriano Olivetti, founders of the Olivetti business empire; Paolini's Il racconto del Vajont the tragedy of the Vajont Dam disaster; Enia's Maggio '43 the Allied bombing of Palermo during the Allied invasion of Sicily in World War II; Celestini's Radio Clandestina and Scemo di guerra the Nazi-Fascist occupation of Rome and its subsequent American liberation; and Ghebreigziabiher's Tramonto and Il dono della diversità racism and immigration problems in the society.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dario Fo</span> Italian playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, director, and politician

Dario Luigi Angelo Fo was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. In his time he was "arguably the most widely performed contemporary playwright in world theatre". Much of his dramatic work depends on improvisation and comprises the recovery of "illegitimate" forms of theatre, such as those performed by giullari and, more famously, the ancient Italian style of commedia dell'arte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesco Guccini</span> Italian singer-songwriter (born 1940)

Francesco Guccini is an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, and writer. During the five decades of his music career he has recorded 16 studio albums and collections, and 6 live albums. He is also a writer, having published autobiographic and noir novels, and a comics writer. Guccini also worked as actor, soundtrack composer, lexicographer and dialectologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vajont Dam</span> Disused gravity arch dam in Erto e Casso, Italy

The Vajont Dam or Vaiont Dam is a disused hydro-electric dam in northern Italy. It is one of the tallest dams in the world, with a height of 262 m (860 ft). It is in the valley of the Vajont (river) under Monte Toc, in the municipality of Erto e Casso, 100 km (62 mi) north of Venice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Verga</span> Italian writer (1840–1922)

Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca was an Italian realist (verista) writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play Cavalleria rusticana and the novel I Malavoglia.

Johan Padan and the Discovery of the Americas is a one-man play by Dario Fo, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. It is narrated by Johan Padan, a fugitive from the Spanish Inquisition who accompanies Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage to the New World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Paolini</span> Italian stage actor, theatre director, dramaturge and author

Marco Paolini is an Italian stage actor, theatre director, dramaturge and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Bajani</span> Italian novelist, poet, and journalist

Andrea Bajani is an Italian novelist, poet, and journalist. After his debut with Cordiali saluti, it was Se consideri le colpe which brought him a great deal of attention. Antonio Tabucchi wrote about his debut novel, "I read this book with an excitement that Italian literature hasn't made me feel in ages." The book won the Super Mondello Prize, the Brancati Prize, the Recanati Prize and the Lo Straniero Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandabardò</span> Italian folk band

Bandabardò is an Italian folk rock band, it was formed in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Betta</span> Italian composer

Marco Betta is an Italian composer.

The Italian publishing house Editoria & Spettacolo di Maximilian La Monica I.i. was established in 2001 in Rome. Under the initiative of Maximilian La Monica, they specialize in the publication of theater and spectacle editions.

Mario Pirovano is an Italian theatre actor, translator and interpreter of Dario Fo monologues.

The Le Maschere del Teatro Italiano, more commonly known informally as the Le Maschere Award in Italian Le Maschere, recognizes achievement in live Italian theatre is the national theatre award of Italy. The awards are presented and decided by the Ente Teatrale Italiano (ETI) and supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture at an annual ceremony in Naples. The awards are given for Italian productions and performances.

The David di Donatello for Best Short Film is a category in the David di Donatello Awards, described as "Italy’s answer to the Oscars", presented annually by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano to recognize the most outstanding Italian short film released in Italy during the year preceding the ceremony, starting with the 1997 edition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remo Anzovino</span> Musical artist

Remo Anzovino is an Italian composer, musician and criminal lawyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ascanio Celestini</span> Italian actor, director, writer and playwright

Ascanio Celestini is an Italian actor, director, writer and playwright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Filibeck</span> Italian lighting designer

Marco Filibeck is an Italian lighting designer.

This is a list of Italian television related events from 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre of Italy</span> Overview of theatrical culture in Italy

The theatre of Italy originates from the Middle Ages, with its background dating back to the times of the ancient Greek colonies of Magna Graecia, in Southern Italy, the theatre of the Italic peoples and the theatre of ancient Rome. It can therefore be assumed that there were two main lines of which the ancient Italian theatre developed in the Middle Ages. The first, consisting of the dramatization of Catholic liturgies and of which more documentation is retained, and the second, formed by pagan forms of spectacle such as the staging for city festivals, the court preparations of the jesters and the songs of the troubadours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberto De Simone</span> Italian composer, stage director, playwright and ethnomusicologist

Roberto De Simone is an Italian stage director, playwright, composer and ethnomusicologist.

The Targa Tenco is a prize awarded annually by the Club Tenco. Founded in 1984, it has a large jury of 200 journalists and critics awarding the best works of the year. It is considered the most prestigious award in Italian music.

References