The new show by Casa degli Alfieri “Teresa, or the seamstress who he wanted to mend the firmament.”
Co-produced by the Asti festival, it is based on a new story by the poet of wonder Antonio Catalano, who also directs it, and will feature Patrizia Camatel on stage in a poetic and intense solo.
The costumes and the textile display are by Barbara Mugnai, who recently, again within the framework of the festival, conducted a much attended and appreciated sentimental sewing workshop which led to the creation of a collective work which will be exhibited to the public in the two evenings.
The show also features the voices of Esther Ruggiero and Vincenzo Caruso.
The protagonist of the narrative is Teresa, the tailor, who, in her shop, mended and sewed throughout the town. And today Teresa is finishing sewing the wedding dress for Aurora, her neighbor, Aurora whose name is like the light that appears, Aurora who wants a beautiful dress that doesn’t cost much and has lace here and there.
To keep her company during her work, her favorite radio play, her precious sewing machine, a photo with now faded smiles.
“Teresa, while she sews, mends her soul – comments Catalano – The soul that has a garment made of memories, of polenta, of hopes, of feelings; it is the dress of memory that tells us who we are, even when everything seems to vanish in the midst of the thick fog and what is true is confused with what is imagined. Teresa embroiders lace clouds while the buzzard flies in the sky and then disappears behind the hill, she knows where… ”
A poetic and sweet story that combines the unmistakable narrative style of Antonio Catalano with authentic anecdotes around the craft of tailors, figures that pass on an ancient wisdom of the hands capable of healing the hearts and souls of human beings.
The seamstresses and tailors in the traditional community have always had a key role: in fact, with their work, they mark the rhythms of the year and of life by creating clothes for every season, for holidays and special occasions.
“If you think about it – explains Camatel – the seamstress is similar to a mythological Parca, who cuts and sews the thread of Life: the first long trousers for the boy who has become a man, the ball gown, the wedding dress, the dress suitable for ceremonies and finally for the own burial. But the tailor and the seamstress are also increasingly rare craftsmen, custodians of an ancient knowledge that has helped the development of humanity itself by creating signs, symbols and relationships between people with fabric and thread”.
This poetic tribute goes to tailors, but also to those who sew for themselves and for their family or friends, which is partly a story to listen to all together, partly a small ritual to feel less alone, to “start a conversation” and discover that although we are all different, we are all at least a little alike. The show will have a national circulation, with some dates at summer festivals from July.
Tickets for Astiteatro: full 10 euros, reduced to 10 and 5. Can be purchased at the Teatro Alfieri ticket office or on ufficioveloce.it
For info and reservations: [email protected] or 0141.399057 – 0141.399040 or on the websites astiteatro.it and casadeglialfieri.it
