Wednesday 8 February at 8.45 pm at the Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti
A comedy about the blurred boundary between health and mental illness, to laugh and reflect on human miseries and the ambiguities of language
At the Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti in Spoleto, included in the 22/23 Theatre Season, on Wednesday 8 February at 8.45 p.m., the hilarious and caustic comedy by the great Eduardo De Filippo Ditegli sempre di sì, directed by Roberto Andò, will be staged featuring Carolina Rosi, Tony Laudadio, Andrea Cioffi, Antonio D’Avino, Federica Altamura, Vincenzo Castellone, Nicola Di Pinto, Paola Fulciniti, Viola Forestiero, Vincenzo D’Amato, Gianni Cannavacciuolo and Boris De Paola. The play is produced by Elledieffe, the theatre company founded by Eduardo De Filippo’s son, Luca, now directed by Carolina Rosi, and co-produced with the Fondazione Teatro della Toscana
Ditegli sempre di sì is one of the earliest plays by De Filippo, a text with a perfect balance between comedy and tragedy that explores the labyrinths of the human mind between ‘normality’ and ‘madness’. In the play, Michele Murri’s madness is real. In fact, he was in an asylum for a year and only the trust of an optimistic psychiatrist allowed him to return to normal life. Michele is a quiet, sociable, courteous madman, on the surface the most normal man in the world, but in truth his madness is more subtle because it consists essentially in confusing his desires with the reality that surrounds him; he exceeds reason, takes everything literally, ignores the use of metaphor, punctual and pushes everything to the extreme. Back home at his sister Teresa’s, he finds himself coming to terms with a world very different from the schemes according to which he was re-educated in the asylum; amid misunderstandings and misinterpretations, the question eventually arises: who is the real madman? And what is the true reality?
“A success,” Carolina Rosi emphasises, “unforeseeable for the times we have lived and are still living through. Bringing together such a large company, more than twenty people, and tackling this particular text by Eduardo De Filippo was certainly risky, but the audience’s response, so strong and cohesive, was very gratifying. This supported us in our decision to tackle a new edition that is currently enjoying a new and long season in theatres all over Italy. A revival that will also allow us, in the spirit that Luca De Filippo wanted to imprint on our Company, to continue offering space and opportunities to the talents, young and not, of our theatre scene.”
Elledieffe has entrusted the direction of Ditegli sempre di sì to one of the most authoritative Italian directors, Roberto Andò. An important production for the company, which continues to represent and protect the immense cultural heritage of one of the oldest families in the theatrical tradition. In the role of Michele Murri is Tony Laudadio while his sister Teresa is played by Carolina Rosi.
Info and tickets
You can book on the phone, please call 075 57542222, Monday through Saturday from 5 pm to 8 pm.
