In a clearly autobiographical account, which ranges from anecdotes to quotes, from memories to reflections, the actor and director Stefano de Luca takes us to the heart of a priceless and unique theatrical and human experience: the encounter with the grand master of theatre, Giorgio Strehler. Through coincidence, love and premonition, the show tells the story of a young actor who came to Milan at the end of the 1980s, to the school run by the famous European director, of his unforgettable encounter with the great master, and of a number of the great lessons of theatre and life that he learned in the most unusual and unpredictable of ways. The show, twenty years on from Giorgio Strehler's death, is a tribute, a declaration of love, but also a reflection on the handing down of knowledge, on the need for human relations, on teaching seen as a noble and fundamental art.
“This is, fundamentally, an act of love: a passionate and impassioned monologue which, without ever crossing the line into melodrama, manages to remain in the agile and balanced theatricality of the Commedia dell’Arte, in the buffoonery of clowns and the knowledgeable restraint of mime, paying tribute not only to the Maestro, but an entire way of practising and conceiving theatre.
It is the urgency of the narration, of sharing and of the encounter; it is the need for that human and ecumenical union that only those who have experienced it can understand and - if encountered, will enrapture you and transport you, like the reeling off of giants and pop legends, of sophisticated music and very prosaic narration, in a meticulous, and never banally predictable, alternation”.
(Francesca Romana Lino – FATTIDITEATRO)

Stefano de Luca, Giorgio Strehler’s apprentice and assistant in various productions, graduated in 1990 from the first course, named after “Jacques Copeau”, held at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano School of Theatre. He continued his studies at the Maly School of Theatre in Saint Petersburg under the guidance of Lev Dodin , as well as in other European theatres, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, with the courses held by Cicely Berry. He is the only Italian director to have directed the actors of the prestigious Maly Theatre of Moscow in three different productions. He has taught and held workshops for actors and directors in the most prestigious international institutions. Since 2004, together with Ferruccio Soleri he has curated the staging of “Harlequin, servant of two masters”, directed by Giorgio Strehler, on world tour. Since 2008 he has directed the theatrical company LupusAgnus, with which he has staged contemporary works based on original dramaturgy.