Amidst trumpet blasts and the beat of the bass drum, the curtain rises and there are the actors, all together, arms raised in a salute to the audience: Harlequin, with his multicoloured patchwork suit and his cat mask, is among them. It is particularly meaningful, in the month in which the seventieth anniversary of the Piccolo is celebrated, to re-propose the gags, the duels and the laughter, but above all the poetry, the “pure theatre” of Harlequin, servant to two masters, created in July of 1947 by Giorgio Strehler, re-interpreting the Goldoni tradition. Harlequin is the most seen Italian show in the world: with Harlequin the Piccolo has travelled the world, from north to south, from east to west, transmitting its unstoppable charge of energy and emotion. In the title role, Ferruccio Soleri - who alternates with Enrico Bonavera - brings the Guinness world of records to the theatre for the longest run performing the same role. A manifestation of a way of making theatre, a training ground for actors - the students of the Piccolo’s School have always joined the Harlequin family, in an ideal passing of the baton with their predecessors - the show is an act of absolute love for the theatre.