A shipwreck on the imaginary coast of the the Isle of Illyria separates Viola from her twin brother Sebastian. She disguises herself as a page in order to become part of the court of the Duke Orsino. Wearing these clothes and known by the name of Cesario, the young woman receives the favours of Olivia, who is promised to the Duke. The height of the comedy of ambiguity, Twelfth Night combines all types of Shakespearian theatre. The fairy tale, the family tragedy, burlesque farce and the epic tale, each one in turn provides a decor for the sorrowful or marvellous love stories for the heros. Antonio Latella who studied with Vittorio Gassman, has also been in contact with the worlds of Luca Ronconi and Massimo Castri. After fifteen years on the stage as an actor, he set about directing plays. He has directed Agatha by Duras, tackled Shakespeare, and arranged a Jean Genet Trilogy, before returning to the most popular of Shakespeare's works. He has staged Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Richard III. He says “Shakespeare's works are fundamental for the growth of a young stage director!” A recent revelation of Italian theatre, Antonio Latella for the first time plays with comedy. He says, “This text seems to run on tiptoe ! It's light, like a Chagall painting. But what is carried inside this lightness ? In this play nobody is who they seem to be. The characters have no future, no past. They consume their entire being in an instant.” In Elizabethan times in England, Shakespeare wrote this play for his troupe which was made up exclusively of male actors. Antonio Latella turns it around with humour and his cast is entirely female. He says, “That enables me to give women actors a chance to tell us how they see men.”
Distribution
stage direction Antonio Latella
cast :Silvia Ajelli, Angela Burico, Ottavia Casagrande, Cristina Cavalli, Anna Coppola, Elisa Lepore, Daria Panettieri, Giorgia Porchetti, Maddalena Recino, Anja Sesia, Elisabetta Valgoi, Alessia Vicardi
set and costumes: Annelisa Zaccheria
lighting :Giorgio Cervesi Ripa
sound :Franco Visioli
Production
Production :Teatro Stabile dell'Umbria (Pérouse)
Avec le soutien :de l'Onda pour les surtitres