The show “Borderlife – our life on the other side” will be presented at the Teatro Bellini in Naples on February 8, 2025 at 21:00 p.m. This theatrical adaptation, developed by Francesca Merloni and Nicoletta Robello, is based on the novel “Borderlife” by Dorit Rabinyan, and is directed by Nicoletta Robello.
The main performers will include Francesca Merloni in the role of Liat and Pavel Zelinskiy in the role of Hilmi, accompanied by live music from the Radicanto group.
A Drama of Love and Conflict
The narrative at the heart of the show is a story that reflects a contemporary parallel to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", recounting the impossible love between Liat, a former Israeli soldier, and Hilmi, a young Palestinian artist. This thwarted love is set in a New York still marked by the events of September 11, underlining the tensions and conflicts of the current world. Radicanto's music, which combines folk elements with Italian songwriting, further enriches the scenic experience.
Reflections on Universal Themes
In addition to telling a love story, the play “Borderlife” invites the audience to reflect on the unresolved conflicts that characterize the international landscape. Dorit Rabinyan’s original novel “Borderlife,” published in 2014 and banned by the Israeli Ministry of Education for reasons of cultural identity, continues to stimulate debate with its depiction of a story that crosses cultural and political barriers.
Rabinyan's novel is set in a post-Twin Towers New York and explores the encounter of two people, Liat and Hilmi, strangers from conflicting worlds, with a poetic narrative that also focuses on the daily and intimate aspects of the protagonists. With the theatrical adaptation, the audience is invited to explore these themes by crossing the stage of the Teatro Bellini.
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