Question of alchemy. Of potions and guessed stills. Sold out in theaters across Italy for more than a year. Well, this is it “Lovers”That will be on stage at the Rendano theater in Cosenza, today and tomorrow, thanks to Pino Citrigno and Gianluigi Fabiano, from L’altro Teatro. A success, that of “Amanti” which, among others, has a great merit: bringing something new out of one of the most debated themes. With a well written and well interpreted text, where even in the inevitable passing of some stereotypes, there is originality. Of narration, of points of view, of the flow of the story told. She and him, Claudia and Giulio, both married, both dissatisfied with the daily ménage, both in saving therapy from the same analyst. They meet by chance. She strikes the spark. They become lovers. And they look good together. Lies, sex, betrayals, the game of love, refuge, here are the ingredients that slowly come together and frame a bittersweet comedy capable of also generating several laughs.
There is Ivan Cotroneo, behind the script, a fine chiseller of human events transposed onto paper, the big and small screen, and now also in the theatre. And there is a very close-knit cast of actors, in which Massimiliano Gallo and Fabrizia Sacchi stand out as they play the thieves of the title. We met Massimiliano Gallo.
How do you “find” so much originality by bringing such an overblown theme to the stage? Both in the script and in the interpretation…
«It depends a little on the pen and a little on the interpreters. Ivan Cotroneo is an author who always manages to give beautiful stories and who has a sensitivity in telling the male and female universes well, completely different, opposite, distant. So, in this show you have a lot of fun because you see these two characters in comparison and then the story grabs you, it moves you. “Amanti” immediately became a huge success. The public has great empathy towards the characters and they are stories where for better or worse you then found yourself directly because you lived it and indirectly because in case a friend of yours had lived it. In short, there is Ivan’s pen and then in putting the show together I also had fun improvising, impersonating the protagonist in my own way and therefore a lot of very, very beautiful things came out.”
So many sold outs, so many requests for repeat performances… what do you think the public liked most about “Amanti”?
«Eh, last year we had a box office record in Milan, at the Manzoni. In my opinion the public not only needs to encounter stories in which they can recognize themselves, but they also need a theater that is alive. You often go to see shows where the word is a dead thing. For us it is something that happens that evening, in the sense that there is also a part of improvisation and fun which is the same that the audience then experiences. In my opinion the public needs to meet their favorites, but they also need to see a “living” theatre.”
How many men are there today, Giulio? And how many women, Claudia?
«Giulio I think it’s a huge portion of men. In general, man is basic, he does not have great three-dimensionality. So there are a lot of Giulios out there. In this case the woman makes a choice of great courage, an action that belongs to women. Some choices that sometimes are made in love stories that you understand must be closed or not considered.”
Because then, in betrayal, there can be more lies told to oneself than to the other…
«If you project yourself into a reality that doesn’t exist, at a certain point you will have to deal with this reality. Betrayal, if you do it to yourself, is perhaps even more dangerous.”