Theatre under the stars, laughter, reflection and a pinch of lightness for those staying in town. Starting on Wednesday 16 July, ‘L’Ora d’Aria’ returns, an open-air amateur theatre review promoted by TeatroCastello and held in the former arena gardens (via XX Settembre) with completely free shows (starting at 9.15 pm).
Now in its 17th edition, the event is the brainchild of Paolo Puccini, an actor and theatre director who died prematurely in 2014, who also conceived the title, which is both simple and ingenious: to give the people of Castelfiorentino a few pleasant evenings during the warmer months, with brilliant shows, light-hearted reflections and a lot of good humour, inspired by the original place where the event was held in the early years, namely the courtyard of the former Castelfiorentino prison where prisoners spent their ‘air time’ outdoors.
The first appointment on the calendar, scheduled for Wednesday 16, is “Sala di attesa” (Waiting Room), proposed by the Compagnia GAT of Castelnuovo d’Elsa. A drama in two acts by Stefania De Ruvo that talks about violence against women. Feminicides, rapes, domestic violence, all these behaviours have a common matrix: the relationship between man and woman, regardless of the individual’s violent inclinations. The play is structured in dialogues and monologues, and although these concern the vicissitudes of different women, they form a single succession. The “Waiting Room” is thus transformed into a kind of limbo, a heterogeneous group of women who are victims of violence but have lost their memories. In the process of recovering their memories, they will acquire the awareness necessary to leave the waiting room.
The show is directed by Enrica Fioravanti, starring Romina Catoni, Cinzia Campisano, Catia Carriero, Tosca Pannocchi and Laura Salvadori.
‘From Wednesday,’ observes the Culture Councillor, Franco Spina, “a new open-air theatrical review kicks off, which will see a number of amateur companies from Castelfiorentino and Tuscany on stage. It begins with the Amici del Teatro di Castelnuovo (Friends of the Theatre of Castelnuovo) group, with a show centred on the limbo of self-accusation that too often accompanies stories of women who are unable to free themselves from the violence they have suffered. A strong message to reflect on the female condition and their fragility. My thanks to TeatroCastello, which is also involved in the organisation of this review every year, and a thought to the memory of Paolo Puccini, a talented artist from Castelfranco who gave so much for the diffusion of the passion for theatre among the new generations”.
The other shows of the review are scheduled for Thursday 24 July (‘Una questione di share’) with the Compagnia Unicorno di Empoli, and Thursday 31 July with ‘Tre per uno’ staged by the company Gli Avanzati di Lucca.
