In Pompeii, the educational project 'Dream of Flying' begins

400 students from the Vesuvian area, coming from the Pascal High School of Pompeii and the Pantaleo Technical Institute of Torre del Greco, filled the large theatre of Pompeii this morning for the launch of the educational project “Sogno di Volare" which includes the staging of the comedy at the end of the school year "Birds"of Aristophanes, in co-production with Ravenna Festival.

Speaking to the boys and girls of the 4th grades of the participating schools were the General Director Gabriel Zuchtriegel and the playwright and director Marco Martinelli.

The project is part of a memorandum of understanding signed, in implementation of the Strategic Plan, last April between the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, the Great Pompeii Project/Great Pompeii Unit and the Regional School Office of Campania - aimed at involving local schools and establishing a concrete link between the ancient testimonies and the young users, in a path aimed at understanding and valorising the historical-archaeological heritage.

Under this protocol, the Pompeii Archaeological Park is the promoter of the training course presented this morning, in which the kids who will be involved on a weekly basis on a voluntary basis have been called to participate.

At the end of the work carried out during the school year, the show will be staged at Teatro Grande of Pompeii in May 2022. The young actors will be supported by internationally renowned artists and professionals from the world of theatre, such as Ambrogio Sparagna for the music and Vincent Longuemare for the lighting design.

"The project wants to sow and leave a mark in the future of many young people, so that they understand that everything comes from the knowledge of their territories and their cultural heritage. – underlines the Director Gabriel Zuchtriegel – The comparison with the past can change the vision of reality starting from the places where we live. Places, spaces, words and customs of the ancient world will become part of the daily life of the kids to whom, often, such testimonies seem far away to give them a meaning. It will be an experience of knowledge, personal enrichment and fun. And in this adventure they will be accompanied by an exceptional director such as Marco Martinelli, very good at working with the kids and involving them with passion".

"Today's meeting, with hundreds of students in the Teatro Grande, was exciting: they have already given us great energy, the first and necessary element to "bring to life" Aristophanes' masterpiece.”- declared Marco Martinelli.

The director Marco Martinelli, founder together with Ermanna Montanari of the Theater of Whitee, is known for his experience of theatrical work with adolescents, which has earned him international awards and recognition.

In the Campania Region in particular, Martinelli in 2006 in Naples gave life to Arrevuoto, an initiative of the Teatro Mercadante, for which he received the National Association of Theatre Critics Award and the Ubu Award as a “special project”.

In 2007 he directed Punta Corsara, with the support of the Campania Festival Foundation. In 2017 he published, for Ponte alle Grazie, “Aristophanes in Scampia”, which won the prize of the National Association of French Critics as “best book on theatre” published in France in 2021.

In the summer of 2022 Martinelli will debut at Ravenna Festival with Paradiso dantesco, conceived and directed together with Ermanna Montanari, involving the entire city in the staging, as in a medieval sacred representation. The director will be supported by assistant directors Valeria Pollice and Gianni Vastarella of Collettivo LaCorsa.

The work "Birds” staged in 414 BC by Aristophanes, is today considered a work of escapism and fantasy, due to the presence of talking birds that accentuate the fairytale tone of the story. In reality, it reveals the background of democratic Athens and the “colonizing” ideology of the time.

It tells of two Athenians, who disgusted by the behavior of their fellow citizens, decide to leave the city to found a new one with the help of birds, initially hostile to the idea, since they do not trust any man. Their distrust will be overcome and the work will begin.

The children will be asked to talk about the cities in which they live by reworking the ancient text.