Piccolo Teatro di Milano

For the fifth time, Piccolo Teatro di Milano come to China. Each time Piccolo Teatro represented the classic comedy Arlecchino, Servant of Two Masters (Harlequin, Servant of Two Masters), its historical piece, which visited more than 50 countries in 63 years and let the world know the name of Piccolo Teatro. This year, on the occasion of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, the Commission of Italy for Shanghai World Expo brings Arlecchino, Servant of Two Masters as part of the Italian culture program in Shanghai Oriental Art Center. Piccolo Teatro also participates in the World Expo 2010 Shanghai with Pirandello’s Six Characters in search of an Author, a co-production with the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Six Characters in search of an Author
17th June, 2010 at Italian Pavilion, EXPO Park

Co-production Piccolo Teatro di Milano - Shanghai Theatre Academy

Pirandello, Italian author winning the Nobel Prize in 1934, with Six Characters in search of an Author, will allow us to attend a one day rehearsal of a fictional theater company, to show with great irony, the different characters that are part of it. But the central theme of Six Characters in search of an Author allows us to work on one of the core parts of the actor’s job and to try to better understand the "magic" of theater, that lies somewhere between the technique of the actor and the spark of life that gives us reality.

Arlecchino, Servant of Two Masters
23rd June, 2010 at Shanghai Oriental Arts Center

Premiered in 1947 by Giorgio Strehler, Arlecchino, Servant of Two Masters has become, over the course of its years, Piccolo Teatro’s worldwide ambassador. Like a phoenix rising from its ashes, this show is a challenge to the primarily ephemeral nature of theatre, without however being a museum piece. In the leading role of Arlecchino, Ferruccio Soleri, is an artist who holds the Guinness 2010 World Record for most consecutive theatre performances in the same role.Goldoni’s play Servant of Two Masters is an extraordinary example of his new dramatic method. Giorgio Strehler changed the name of his production of Goldoni’s classic work in Arlecchino, Servant of Two Masters to celebrate the play’s central Commedia dell’Arte’s character: Arlecchino. In the 18^th century, Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni used and revised many of Commedia dell’Arte’s dramatic conventions in his plays, writing complete play texts and turning conventional character types into complex human beings. Commedia dell’Arte is a form of improvised comedy performed by professional players in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; first in Italy and then later on in other parts of Europe.

Press reviews

“His nimble performance as a servant who sows confusion when he takes on two employers is a continual delight.”

- The New York Times

“Piccolo Teatro’s production of ‘Arlecchino’, is the dictionary definition of ‘classic’: The company’s energy and inventiveness bring centuries of theatrical tradition to life.”

- The Gazette

For More information, please visit:
http://www.expo2010italia.gov.it/area.asp?a=575&oc=762&d=2686