In an overturning of the perception of time that is typical of dreams, in the thirty minutes that separates him from his cue to take the stage in the lead role in Strindberg’s The Storm, an elderly actor enters a timeless realm in which he relives moments of his life. The sounds of a theatre coming to life beyond the door to his dressing room offer an opportunity and an invitation – at times light-hearted and at times moved – to meet and even to dialogue with the ghosts of his past, where one sound evokes another, a laugh leads to a moment of joy, while a lengthy silence brings to mind a distant loss.
Massimo Popolizio has sought to explore the figure of the actor with the delicateness of one trying to reveal secrets that want to remain a mystery. In a highly evocative setting – where sounds and images create an imaginary dialogue with the lead character - we are witness to the long journey towards that Storm, seen as a final destination, not yet reached, but merely postponed.
Umberto Orsini lets himself be led by Popolizio with the faith of an elderly master who entrusts to the discretion of a younger figure the task of representing the fragments of his life, as well as the history of our country since the end of the war.