The suitcase on the bed conquers Pagani

Another precious piece of the tireless commitment with which Alfonso Giannattasio – already creator and patron of the Pagani Teatro Festival – promotes theatre in the area was achieved a few days ago on the stage of the Auditorium Sant'Alfonso Maria de' Liguori, with the staging of the cult The suitcase on the bed – an aimless escape.

The packed house, filled with a warm and enthusiastic audience, welcomed Eduardo Tartaglia's celebrated comedy with great enthusiasm, paying tribute to Domenico Palmiero's dynamic and refined direction. A well-rehearsed cast of actors—Mariarosaria Cafiero, Antonio Lippiello, Clementina Gesumaria, Alberto Tortora, Felice D'Anna, Giovanni Del Prete, and Domenico Palmiero himself—delivered a fresh and intense take on the story, supported by a rare ensemble.

A single thread, under the masterful direction of Palmiero the director, ran through the entire show: a powerful narrative energy that not only amplified the power of the text but also highlighted the value and quality of a timely collective effort.

The evening's rhythm was marked by heartfelt laughter, while the audience's spontaneity—captivated by the stagecraft—transformed into a constant, underhanded dialogue between audience and actors. The comic adventures of protagonist Achille Lo Chiummo, who stumbles into misunderstandings and misunderstandings, fueled by delightful verbal ambiguity and bizarre characters, exposed his fragility and his desire to escape a bitter reality, creating a perfect balance between comedy and reflection on a vulnerable and contradictory Naples.

Comedy and a touch of melancholy made the show an expression of authentic theater, where attention to detail—including through a realistic, deliberately pared-down, and therefore functional, set design—helped convey a profoundly human Naples. This work confirms the quality of the FSSL Compagnia di Teatro and Proteatro, as well as that of the organization, overseen by Alfonso Giannattasio and his proposals.

At the end of the performance, we asked Domenico Palmiero, the driving force and beating heart of the show, to reveal the more intimate side, the choices, and the behind-the-scenes details that contributed to the evening's success. Here's the resulting interview.

Reviving a cult classic like “The Suitcase on the Bed” inevitably involves a certain complexity: what was the main challenge for you in reinterpreting it today?

The challenge is always to break free from those who came before you and reinvent yourself, giving the audience the sensation of seeing something new without constant mnemonic references; therefore, treating the text and its author as such, always starting from the written word that becomes spoken. That's Theatre, in short.

Throughout the evening, the audience appeared engaged and genuinely entertained: what feelings did you experience while you were on stage?

It's a constant force. Mimmo Borrelli says that theater is a great collective pact; it's true! You can't distance yourself on stage, it's not allowed. Staying attentive to the audience and understanding where to push, where to taper off, ensures that the show is always fresh, night after night.

While I was on stage, I was struck by the loud laughter of a woman in the front row: the more she laughed, the more I understood what made her laugh, the more I enjoyed making her laugh. This schizophrenia between actor and character, multiplied by a large audience like the one the other night, establishes the uniqueness of that moment.

 Between directing and acting, you've covered two key roles: how do you deal with this dual responsibility?

At a certain point, the director must step aside and let the actors work; the effectiveness of a show depends solely on them. The direction follows its own path, establishing an image, a narrative, the characters' interpretations, the pace that the scene must sustain. But, in reference to that here and now I mentioned earlier, it's the actor's job to understand (in subtle but important nuances) how to make the show flow. Usually, by the third performance, I begin to relax and let my directorial side rely on the actors, myself first and foremost.

 All of you actors from the FSSL – PROTEATRO company have offered high-level performances: how did you manage to build such effective and cohesive stage energy?

Some things happen... it's not always like this! In the case of "The Suitcase," it's a complicity we found by chance and it's been entertaining since the first table reads; it's gradually intensified. This is a show that holds together thanks to the group; there are no "individuals." If one of us were to decide to fall, everything would fall in a domino effect. I have great respect and admiration for each of them, and often they manage to turn me into a spectator on stage; this feeling is mutual. I laugh, they laugh, and the audience feels involved in something they feel belongs to them.

Your artistic history speaks of a love for theater born at a very young age and a particular attention to the comedy of Eduardo De Filippo: how do these roots continue to influence your work?

My bond with Eduardo is transcendental. A bond that brings me back to him in any difficult moment, even when I'm not working on his plays. What I consistently get from him is the simplicity with which he connects the actor's relationship with the text. Eduardo teaches you to recognize the feelings that coexist in your daily life and in a fictional stage present; when you've accustomed your work to this honesty, the relationship with the audience rewards you.

After "The Suitcase on the Bed," what are your next artistic projects? Can you give us a preview?

We will still be on stage with The suitcase on the bed this weekend, January 10th and 11th, at the Teatro Santa Teresa in Naples, then we will resume other shows around the region such as A real tragedy by Patroni Griffi, Queen Mother by Manlio Santanelli and Honest: Band 3.0. At the same time I am working with the company on the rehearsals of Fear number one by Eduardo, which will debut in Caserta in April: the pernicious fear of the outbreak of a third world war exorcised through bitter comedy and intense reflections. A theme I was interested in exploring, now more than ever!

The evening, whose proceeds were donated to the Redemptorist Foreign Missions Onlus working in Madagascar, concluded with a speech on stage by Father Lorenzo Fortunio, parish priest of the Basilica of Sant'Alfonso, who thanked the group for their commitment to solidarity and expressed his joy at starting the year so close to others, saying: "I believe that being together with others, laughing together, is the most beautiful thing. And starting a year like this is truly the best that could happen to us." This gesture highlights how culture, local care, and solidarity transform the theater into a place of encounter and shared responsibility.