«In Palermo, we all have a constellation of mourning in which the stars are the people killed by Cosa Nostra». Beginning with accounts of the Eighties and the bombings of ‘92, around which he has constructed an absorbing biographical structure, Davide Enia paints «an intimate and collective self-portrait» of a community forced to live with the constant manifestation of evil.
«To truly take on the subject of Cosa Nostra – explains Davide Enia – means embarking on a process of self-analysis. Therefore, with the aim not of understanding the mafia itself, but rather to understand the mafia in me.»
Interweaving cunto and words, body and dialect, “the tools that the theatrical vocabulary has constructed in my Palermo», Enia explores what he defines as the neurosis of his fellow citizens in relation to organised crime: «For a number of reasons, here, the mafia has been minimised, underestimated, trivialised, swept under the carpet or, on the contrary, idealised. In other words, it has never been seen for what it is.»
The play tells of the constant encounters with Cosa Nostra; the corpses found on the streets, the acquaintances killed by the mafia, the bombs in the city, the appearance of evil, «the dark expression of the sacred», to which the artist responds with «a work that is a tragedy, a civil oration, a linguistic study, a personal and collective process of self-analysis. A self-portrait that is both intimate and collective.»
Duration: 90’ without intermission
Cities
2024/25 SEASON
Spoleto | 29 June-7 July 2024
Festival dei Due Mondi | Info
Forlì | 3 December 2024
Teatro Piccolo | Info
Udine | 4-6 December 2024
Teatro Contatto | Info
Imola | 27 February 2025
Teatro Ebe Stignani | Info
Cervignano del Friuli | 28 February 2025
Teatro Pasolini | Info
Tortona | 11 March 2025
Teatro Civico | Info
Mondovì | 12 March 2025
Teatro Baretti | Info
Vigone | 13 March 2025
Teatro Selve | Info
Asti | 14 March 2025
Spazio Kor | Info
Padova | 20 March 2025
Piccolo Teatro | Info
Vicenza | 21 March 2025
Teatro Astra | Info
San Giovanni In Persiceto | 23 March 2025
Teatro Comunale | Info
Santa Sofia | 18 April 2025
Teatro Mentore | Info
Roma | 20 May-1 June 2025
Teatro India | Info
Torino | 3-8 June 2025
Teatro Stabile di Torino | Info
Gualtieri | 18-19 June 2025
Terreni Fertili Festival | Info
Baglio Di Stefano, Gibellina | 19 July 2025
Festival Orestiadi | Info
2025/26 SEASON
Bologna | September 2025
Scenario Festival Bologna, Teatro Manifattura
Trieste | 29-31 October 2025
Il Rossetti, Sala Bartoli | Info
Terni | 3-4 November 2025
Teatro Secci | Info
Genova | 13-16 November 2025
Teatro Modena | Info
Reggio Emilia | 4-5 December 2025
Teatro Ariosto | Info
Firenze | 12-13 March 2026
Teatro Rifredi | Info
Pontedera | 14-15 March 2026
Teatro Era | Info
Napoli | 25-29 March 2026
Teatro San Ferdinando | Info
Palermo | 21-24 May 2026
Teatro Biondo | Info
«To truly take on the subject of Cosa Nostra – explains Davide Enia – means embarking on a process of self-analysis. Therefore, with the aim not of understanding the mafia itself, but rather to understand the mafia in me.»
Interweaving cunto and words, body and dialect, “the tools that the theatrical vocabulary has constructed in my Palermo», Enia explores what he defines as the neurosis of his fellow citizens in relation to organised crime: «For a number of reasons, here, the mafia has been minimised, underestimated, trivialised, swept under the carpet or, on the contrary, idealised. In other words, it has never been seen for what it is.»
The play tells of the constant encounters with Cosa Nostra; the corpses found on the streets, the acquaintances killed by the mafia, the bombs in the city, the appearance of evil, «the dark expression of the sacred», to which the artist responds with «a work that is a tragedy, a civil oration, a linguistic study, a personal and collective process of self-analysis. A self-portrait that is both intimate and collective.»
Duration: 90’ without intermission
Credits
Autoritratto
by and with Davide Enia
music Giulio Barocchieri
lighting Paolo Casati
sound Francesco Vitaliti
co-produced by CSS Teatro stabile di innovazione del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d’Europa, Accademia Perduta Romagna Teatri, Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi