The theme of identity and a new vision of the “double” take to the stage of the Teatro Tram on November 4 and 5: the new season comes to life with the Teatro Nudo company and its “Umana”, a text written and directed by Francesca Esposito and winner of the “Premio Regista con la A” 2023 promoted by the hall in via Port'Alba to give space and prestige to shows directed by women.
The project was born in the elementary school of the Teatro Conservatorio delle Arti della Scena, conceived and directed by Davide Iodice. On stage Clara Bocchino, Anna Bocchino, Taras Nakonechnyi, Lucio De Cicco, Carmela Ioime, give life to a journey within themselves: in the reception of the Secolare Hotel, a woman, Umana, reflects herself in the face of the owner, Flora. Umana and Flora have the same face (Clara and Anna Bocchino respectively, two identical twin actresses) and yet they do not recognize each other. Here, more than the theme of the double so dear to the theater, the theme of dis-integrated identity is developed. Umana rents a room and discovers that beyond the threshold live the Hidden Ones (played by Lucio De Cicco, Carmela Ioime and Taras Nakonechnyi), enigmatic figures, shadows that invade her space, who speak to her as if they knew her.
In an era of upheavals like the one we are living in, we no longer recognize ourselves. The ancient parameters for self-definition are no longer sufficient. It is necessary to rewrite the boundaries of one's identity and integrate within oneself parts that seem "other than oneself", as happens to Umana who does not recognize in Flora her own profound nature, does not recognize in the Hidden Ones the forces that move below the level of consciousness. And so the threshold, this non-place where inside and outside mix, like light and darkness an hour before dawn, becomes a space to explore, in which immaterial concepts such as "the conscious" and "the unconscious" find body, the space of a clash, of a war between the invisible forces that animate the psyche and the desire for oblivion, for narcosis, for unconsciousness.
The central element of the scene is the door that becomes the hinge around which the whole scene rotates, the center of the vortex, in a “poor” dimension that leaves the field to the body, to the ritual and to collective creation. The sanctified door, the door that separates, the door that unites, the door used as something other than itself. It is a staged door with a semi-transparent insert that allows for the creation of shadows, silhouettes or to hide completely.
“Umana” is a show in the shadows, the shadows given by the flame of a candle, symbol of the meeting between light and darkness. The candelabra, carried by one of the Hidden Ones, illuminates and hides, reveals and conceals. The flame gives life to the first movement of the show, guiding Umana on her journey.
A path of evolution that culminates in the reconnection with one's deepest self. A female character stands as a symbol of the human being, beyond the definition of gender. If Ulysses is the symbol of the human being who aspires to Knowledge by sailing the seas of the world, Human is the Person who reaches his own core by immersing himself in the depths of his being.
How many layers does human nature consist of? Do we really know (and accept) ourselves? How willing are we to lie in order to fit an idea of ourselves that doesn't really belong to us? Are we willing to die? And what happens when we distance ourselves so much from our deepest nature, from our soul, that we struggle to recognize parts of ourselves?
“Umana” is the story of the encounter with the deep self, of the difficulty of integrating one’s shadows and recognizing them as part of oneself. These shadows, the Hidden Ones, live beyond the door, beyond the threshold that Umana refuses to cross, beyond the threshold that separates the Unconscious from the Conscious.
UMANA
November 4 and 5, 2023 (Outside the program)
production Teatro Nudo
show winner of the “Director with an A” Award 2023
text and direction Francesca Esposito
assistant director Adriana D'Agostino
on stage Anna Bocchino, Clara Bocchino, Carmela Ioime, Lucio De Cicco, Taras Nakonechnyi
music by Cristian Sommaiuolo
scenography Filippo Stasi
lighting design Tommaso Vitiello
Show times:
- Saturday 4th November: 19pm
- Sunday 5th November: 18pm
Article published on November 2, 2023 - 11:58
