BE NORMAL!

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BE NORMAL! _ Daimon Project

Una giornata impossibile fra aspirazioni, fallimenti e sopravvivenza quotidiana

What do you do for a living?

I saw the best minds of my generation wondering whether they were going to get paid, how much, how many hours a day do you work, how long do you think you’ll work for, do you do it because you feel the need or do you do it for money? I saw the best minds of my generation getting lost and letting go. I saw the best – as well as the worst – minds look straight into their daimon’s eyes and shoot it down – what was its purpose, anyway? If we were to put up a theatre show it would be about this, two actors in their thirties (or thereabouts) on stage, a man and a woman, Italian, ordinary people, sweating it out on stage, trying in any way they can to do God knows what, and the audience should feel sorry for them, then for themselves, then everything would get worse and worse, it’d be a disaster, and maybe we could forever put an end to people asking, “Sure, theatre – but what’s your real job?”.

Credits

concept and direction Sotterraneo
on stage Sara Bonaventura, Claudio Cirri
dramaturgy Daniele Villa

light design Marco Santambrogio
costume advice Laura Dondoli, Sofia Vannini
props Cleto Matteotti, Eva Sgro’
graphics Massimiliano Mati
drawings Claudio Fucile

production Sotterraneo
coproduction Associazione Teatrale Pistoiese, Centrale Fies
with the support of BE Festival (Birmingham), Opera Estate Festival Veneto, Regione Toscana
artistic residencies Centrale Fies, Associazione Teatrale Pistoiese, Warwick Arts Centre

Sotterraneo is part of the Fies Factory, associate artist at Piccolo Teatro Milano and is resident at ATP Teatri di Pistoia

PRESS REVIEW

«The final version of BE NORMAL! is laudable. In this performance, Teatro Sotterraneo company manage to re-discover their effective, deadpan style a ‘measured irrealism’ on today’s hard life of people in their thirties […] by creating other spaces and juxtaposing a combination of love and slices of life in a paroxysmal crescendo».

Anna Bandettini, La Repubblica

«Teatro Sotterraneo’s style is never marred by realism or whining, and is rather offbeat, leading to the estrangement effect coined by Brecht – albeit a pop version of it. The impact is much like a blade sinking into the heart of an issue, yet they are always capable of seeing the funny side of things. […] the show is made up of short, devilish scenes punctuated by hopeless hours. Much like having to laugh to avoid crying over this daily, generational struggle for survival».

Claudia Cannella, Hystrio

«Impotence as an existential condition being an end in itself. Visual power couples with the message that reaches the audience with an amazing emotional strength and true! [ ]BE NORMAL! seems to tell us that there’s no future and their nonsensical actions are the key to give up awaiting a comforting finale. […] Sotterraneo makes us laugh and once again laughter turns into a sort of general, disenchanted incredulity».

Roberto Rinaldi, www.rumorscena.com

«Teatro Sotterraneo stages a play about a generation that desperately tries to keep afloat[…]. It seems there is no solution or happy end and Teatro Sotterraneo stages the “sad” reality, the difficulties faced by those who insist and persist in keeping their dreams alive in a daily fight; they do that with no self-pity or banality: on the contrary they describe the cruel reality with irony and cynicism, features that have always characterised the plays of this young company».

Cristina Zanotto, scatolaemozionale.blogspot.it

«BE NORMAL! is ironic, flooring, well planned – just like almost every show by Teatro Sotterraneo; moreover it deals in an original way with today’s generational conflict, with young people facing ambitions, which are often unachievable… […] Funny and deep. A must see».

Gherardo Vitali Rosati, www.gherardovitalirosati.it

«After being constantly punched by the same, obsessing imaginary for twenty years, Sotterraneo now throws in our face the story of a day when the post atomic embrace in front of the eclipse is not something for survivors only, but rather the symbol of a theatre of cruel survival».

Nicola Ruganti, www.minimaetmoralia.it

VIDEO CONTENT

BE NORMAL! Daimon Project

GALLERY

ph. © Andre Pizzalis, Emiliano Pona

TOURING

2019

Auditorium Piazza della Libertà – Bergamo

2018

Teatro Comunale – Occhiobello
Auditorium Ugo Guidi – Forte dei Marmi
Auditorium Centro Sociale – Salerno
Teatro Cubo – Torino

2017

Teatro i – Milano
WAM! Festival/ Ridotto Teatro Masini – Faenza

2015

Nuovo Cinema Teatro Italia – Soliera
Teatro al Parco – Parma
Teatro Sociale – Bergamo
Teatro di Asparetto – Asparetto di Cerea
Teatro Sperimentale – Ancona
Teatro Morelli – Cosenza
Teatro Studio – Scandicci
Teatro dei Vigilanti – Portoferraio
Ternifestival – Terni

2016

Teatro Persio Flacco – Volterra
Teatro degli Atti – Rimini
Festival de Almada – Almada
Piccolo Teatro Mauro Bolognini – Pistoia

2014

Teatro Guglielmi – Massa
Teatro Studio/Teatro Stabile – Bolzano
Drodesera – Dro
Short Theatre – Roma
Festival StArtUp – Taranto
Teatro Subasio – Spello

2013

Warwick Arts Centre (prova aperta) – Coventry (UK)
Santarcangelo dei Teatri (studio) – Santarcangelo di Romagna
Drodesera (studio) – Dro
Teatro Bolognini (debutto) – Pistoia
Teatro Yves Montand – Monsummano Terme
Teatro Mattarello – Arzignano

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