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 Presentations of the The Danton Case based on Stanislawa Przybyszewska by Teatro La Madrugada in Milan Actors: Alessandro Borroni, Simone Lampis, Emanuela Mancosu, Roberta Secchi, Monica Zipparri Music: Sonata a 3, La Follia (RV 63) by Antonio Vivaldi; Couplets de Folies by Marin Marais; Diferencias sobre las Folias by Antonio Martín y Coll; French Revolution songs. Scenic space: Giulia Capodieci and Teatro La Madrugada Stagecraft: Simone Lampis Light Design: Alessandro Borroni and Teatro La Madrugada Light and Music Technician: Marzia Palmieri Assistant Director: Manuela Frontoni Dramaturgy and Direction: Raúl Iaiza Teatro La Madrugada would like to thank: Monique Bertrand and Ana Maria Luisa Romano for the costumes, Gabriele Guglielmetti for the artistic objects, Franco Koehler for artistic objects and scenic sculptures, Giulia Capodieci for the paintings in the scenic space, Antonio Bruno for the decorations, Manfredo Kraemer for the licence to use his recorded music, Pablo Palacios for the sound elaboration, Officine Bogani and Andrea Maiotti for the help in welding the scene, Paolo Casati and Lorenzo Bruscaglione for the light design counselling, Lorenza Daverio for the photos, Julio Paz for the poster of The Danton Case.  Some notes “Absolute good or absolute evil ask for the very same furore if you approach it with the necessary amount of logics” Albert Camus, The Rebel The Danton Case deals with the conflict which broke between Robespierre and Danton in mid-march 1794, and which ended with Danton's and his followers' death on 5th April 1794. Stanislawa Przybyszewska is well aware of the analogies between her work and the political upheavals and risings in the early eighteen century. In a letter about the Russian Revolution, she confesses “I reluctantly force myself to read the charges” . The Danton Case is not a historical play. It is a reflection on the tragic paradoxes of the Revolution as it is, the paradoxes stemmed out from the French Revolution in 1789, in Europe. Robespierre rationally seeks to establish a perfect society and in doing so he makes other submit to his ideals. On the other hand, Danton points out that “it is necessary to tune the Revolution to human nature ... stealing and corruption are natural needs and a government cannot survive without them ...” Robespierre and Danton love and hate each other, as if they were bothers who had lost their heads. Their followers undergo the same conflict. They do not have tensions or contradictions. They are torn apart, unable to live up to the words they say, the decisions they take or do not take, the actions they do or do not do. They are broken. “We are here at the dawn of a religion with its martyrs, ascetics and saints. The gallows look like altars to religion and injustice. The new faith cannot tolerate them. But then, a new faith comes and becomes dogma. It builds its own altars and it requires to be worshipped unconditionally. It's the time when gallows appear again...”. Albert Camus, The Rebel. We are invited to the Revolution Court. Its most civilized attainment is the rationalization of the state homicide, that is, sentencing people to death “without cruelty”. There is a pertinent detail in the shifting from the rebellion impulse to the ideological homicide, from the ideal tensions to tyranny: the theatrical archetype of the revolutionary act. After power has turned upside down, the Revolution Theatre appears or re-appears. People play old scripts. Do the protagonists belong to a theatre company staging the events or are they really experiencing the events? Is there any difference? Do the protagonists of an historical event - which will change the life of an entire community - play a character? At a certain point, Revolution turns into Terror: why are people sentenced to death? Who are those who can decide that this is the right punishment? How can the chain of death sentences be broken? How many people must die to achieve the change of the world and gain the original innocence? (Saint Just was “tormented” by this very idea). To play a role might be the only way to live up to the responsibility of making Terror come true.. Everybody plays a role and has a different degree of involvement in the Terror drama. Nevertheless, they are all involved on a public and private level. They play a part, either consciously or ambiguously. What happens when the spectacle of the public death ends? The French Revolution entire historical process is signalled by a symbol, that is the guillotine, the idea that it is necessary to kill somebody in order to guarantee the wellness of the community. It is the spectacle of the rational dignity that can adobe the death penalty. Under this new conquest the so called contemporary age begins. R. I. Teatro La Madrugada Valentina Bianda, Alessandro Borroni, Ujwal Bhole, Giulia Capodieci, Franco Koelher, Raúl Iaiza, Simone Lampis, Emanuela Mancosu, Stefano Olimpi, Marzia Palmieri, Roberta Secchi, Tiziana Tricarico, Monica Zipparri See more: www.teatrolamadrugada.com |