The show

A diary full of blank pages is the gift Giannino Stoppani receives on Wednesday 20th September 1905 on the occasion of his ninth birthday: blank pages to be filled with facts and … misdeeds.

Giannino, the protagonist, gets into a lot of trouble not because he is bad, but because he is curious, in the most positive sense of the word, because he wants his own good, but above all that of others, because he is a child open to the world and because, like all children, he has a strong sense of justice.

We thought it would be interesting to stage the adventures of a lively child, full of the joy of living with others and full of imagination, like Gian Burrasca, at a time when children no longer receive blank diaries to fill with stories about themselves in relation to the world, in which to immortalise their days full of adventures and fantasy.

Staging the “Giornalino di Gian Burrasca” means re-proposing an ancient story, but one that still manages to speak today of a world made up of simple but strong feelings, far away, but which still has much to say.

Director’s notes

Our edition takes into account not only the novel by Vamba (Luigi Bertelli), but also the historical television edition that RAI produced in 1964, directed by Lina Wertmüller, with music by Nino Rota and starring Rita Pavone.

The black and white scene opens up like the pages of that book, reawakening to the child and adult spectator the enchantment of the simplicity of a world that no longer exists. That’s why the idea of keeping the original language of Vamba, to arouse in the child spectator the curiosity of words, the liveliness of a vocabulary that will be understandable beyond the fall in use of some terms (such as “busse”, “collegio” etc.) or the rarity of their use (“parsimonia” etc.) as it always happens in the game of theatre.

From the screenplay we borrow the idea of having the actress play the role of GianBurrasca and all the other roles played by two other actors (the game of theatrical masquerade!) and we propose music and songs from that distant television version, even if we then move towards a completely new theatrical production, which has the flavour of an old fairy tale, in the Liberty style or early 20th century Variety, but which can speak to today’s children and adults.
Pino Costalunga

 

The show

A boy and a girl meet by chance in a public garden and start talking. They both tell about their past: two very different pasts.
She is the daughter of a wealthy family, but perhaps a little too bigoted and closed-minded. A family that sees in its daughter the possibility of realising dreams that are, however, only those of her parents, who are unable to recognise in their daughter a person with her own capacity to want and desire. And here are born the discussions and the quarrels, above all with the father, the misunderstandings with a mother too weak, here is born the uneasiness of the daughter, symptoms that will then lead to a violent and dangerous reaction. He, on the other hand, is a boy who comes from a distant and poor country, who has crossed the sea and experienced all sorts of mental and physical abuse, a boy in search of a well-being that he could not have in his country of origin.

Two different stories, but both told to raise questions, to pose problems, to seek solutions together. Both to talk about the Charter of the Rights of the Child.

This show particularly takes into consideration the following articles of the Charter of the Rights of the Child:

• Art. 6 – you have the right to live
• Art. 7 – You have the right to a name that must be officially recognised by the government. You have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country)
• Art. 12 – you have the right to speak your mind and adults must listen to you and take you seriously
• Art. 14 – your parents should help you decide what is right and wrong and what is best for you
• Art. 32 – You have the right to protection from work that harms you, your health and your education. If you work, you have the right to security and to be paid fairly

The show

On her thirteenth birthday Anne receives a notebookas a present, which becomes her secret diary, addressed to Kitty, her imaginary friend to whom she confides her thoughts. The diary is Anne’s only chance to express herself, to tell her experiences and thoughts.

But above all, Anne’s diary describes life during the two years she, her family and four other people, all Jewish, lived in hiding from the Nazi persecution, before being betrayed and deported. Anne tells us about her way of resisting the horrors of history, her tenacious attempt to remain happy despite everything. Anne remains locked in her secret hiding place just as her body is changing, her feelings are changing and becoming more complicated. She is a teenager: sometimes she is still a child, sometimes she seems grown up.

Holed up in the attic of her father’s former factory, Anne discovers love, makes fun of people she dislikes, asks questions that are bigger than herself and, when she is very sad, dreams of places without war.

Anne observes everything from the skylight on the roof. She sees all the evils of the world, sees the poor begging for money and the Nazis loading up the Jews on trucks. From the window high up there, Anne seems to be spying on us too, wondering if we are not all a bit the same. After all, not even a hundred years have passed since she had to hide in that shelter in Amsterdam.

Many wars still surround us and hatred is once again stirring in Europe. From that refuge, Anne holds out her hand to the audience and seems to tell us not to be afraid, to still believe in humanity as she did, because without dreams and hope, nothin will ever change.

In the scenic tale we will discover Anne’s true story, what she lived and felt during the hiding period and in the last days of her life.

Through the study of original documents and studies carried out over all these years, the figure of Anne will be revealed to the eyes of the children: a courageous girl who was able to put into words much more mature than herself the events that were overwhelming her world.

The show

Once upon a time … there was a king. No, once upon a time there was a piece of wood. Not even. Once upon a time there was the theater … The show is about to begin. The audience is already seated. Enter the actor with the inevitable suitcase and a big nose. And here comes the actor with the inevitable suitcase and another big nose. “You already said that!” our little readers will say. “I know” I reply, but the actors are two, with two suitcases and two noses and both are firmly determined to tell, alone, the story of the puppet Pinocchio …

Immediately they begin to quarrel, nose to nose, about who will have to tell it and who will play the part of Pinocchio. The suitcases are opened and our “journey for noses” starts. Yes, because Pinocchio is nothing more than a wooden child, with a nose he is ashamed of. But the whole world is made up of noses, like the cherry red nose of Geppetto, the big nose of Mangiafuoco, not to mention the noses of the Cat and the Fox. Little Pinocchio, carried away by his curiosity and his pranks, will have to make a fantastic journey before returning, finally transformed into a real child, to the house of his father Geppetto …

Two actors, two suitcases, infinite noses and a great classic of children’s literature. Pinocchio represents the initiation rite of a child who wants to become part of society. To do this, like all children of the well known fairy tales, he will have to leave the house and face the world, travel through the villages of Toys or Acchiappacitrulli, deal with fears (Mangiafuoco) with conscience (Grillo Parlante) with friendship (Candlewick) and with the most varied swindlers (the Cat and the fox), only after passing these tests will he finally enter adulthood (in the novel represented by the “transformation” into a child) to take care, in turn, of his own affections (the father Geppetto and the Blue Fairy). The two actors will tell the story with the help of small objects, masks, noses, puppets, stealing the parts, improvising and maybe in the end they will understand that, perhaps, to tell it in two you have twice as much fun.