The Red Lion
Concluded
©Salvatore Pastore
Cancelled Event
The changing room of an amateur football team. Three men face each other: a young and promising footballer, the coach, and the team’s elderly kit-man. Cotugno’s simple and symbolic staging transfers Marber’s original in English to provincial Campania.
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Teatro Grassi
Patrick Marber is possibly not a well-known name, but many have seen Closer, the splendid film by Mike Nichols with Jude Law, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman and Julia Roberts, based on the play of the same name which saw the playwright triumph in London and on Broadway.
Marcello Cotugno – who staged the Italian version of Closer in 2003 – strengthens his bond with the English playwright with The Red Lion. “Marber - he explains -, taking his cue from authors such as Harold Pinter and John Osborne, follows in the wake of Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane and, from overseas, Edward Albee, David Mamet and Sam Shepard. It is a relational form of theatre which, with a blend of tradition and innovation, explores and dissects the failed relationships and lost values of Western civilisation".
The central theme of The Red Lion is football. “On the state - Cotugno continues - we have three characters: a young promising player, the coach and the team’s elderly kit-man, with the latter two unconscious of the young man’s problems and focused exclusively on profiting from his skills”.
The adaptation by the Neapolitan writer Andrej Longo sets the story in provincial Campania and aims to further highlight the universal themes and remove the distance that at times distorts understanding of British works. Through a cross-generational and powerful subject, Marber invites us to reflect on the loss of values that currently affects many other contemporary contexts. The simple and symbolic staging showcases the performances of an exceptional cast. The young Simone Mazzella and two of the most appreciated Italian talents of stage and screen, Nello Mascia and Andrea Renzi, who - twenty years later - are reforming the footballing duo from One man up, Paolo Sorrentino’s cult debut film. The three actors lend a voice to the lost souls who, between one match and the next, come together and collide in the worn and fascinating backstage of a run-down provincial football pitch, bitterly representing the dreams and failures of us all.
Duration: two hours without interval
Patrick Marber is possibly not a well-known name, but many have seen Closer, the splendid film by Mike Nichols with Jude Law, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman and Julia Roberts, based on the play of the same name which saw the playwright triumph in London and on Broadway.
Marcello Cotugno – who staged the Italian version of Closer in 2003 – strengthens his bond with the English playwright with The Red Lion. “Marber - he explains -, taking his cue from authors such as Harold Pinter and John Osborne, follows in the wake of Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane and, from overseas, Edward Albee, David Mamet and Sam Shepard. It is a relational form of theatre which, with a blend of tradition and innovation, explores and dissects the failed relationships and lost values of Western civilisation".
The central theme of The Red Lion is football. “On the state - Cotugno continues - we have three characters: a young promising player, the coach and the team’s elderly kit-man, with the latter two unconscious of the young man’s problems and focused exclusively on profiting from his skills”.
The adaptation by the Neapolitan writer Andrej Longo sets the story in provincial Campania and aims to further highlight the universal themes and remove the distance that at times distorts understanding of British works. Through a cross-generational and powerful subject, Marber invites us to reflect on the loss of values that currently affects many other contemporary contexts. The simple and symbolic staging showcases the performances of an exceptional cast. The young Simone Mazzella and two of the most appreciated Italian talents of stage and screen, Nello Mascia and Andrea Renzi, who - twenty years later - are reforming the footballing duo from One man up, Paolo Sorrentino’s cult debut film. The three actors lend a voice to the lost souls who, between one match and the next, come together and collide in the worn and fascinating backstage of a run-down provincial football pitch, bitterly representing the dreams and failures of us all.
Duration: two hours without interval
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Salvatore Pastore
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Salvatore Pastore
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Salvatore Pastore
-
Salvatore Pastore
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Salvatore Pastore
-
Salvatore Pastore
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Salvatore Pastore
Credits
Piccolo Teatro Grassi
from 21 October to 1 November 2020
The Red Lion
by Patrick Marber
translation Marco Casazza, adaptation Andrej Longo
direction and soundtrack by Marcello Cotugno
assistant director Martina Gargiulo
sets Luigi Ferrigno
costumes Anna Verde
lighting Pasquale Mari
sound Daghi Rondanini
with Nello Mascia, Andrea Renzi, Simone Mazzella
a La Pirandelliana/Teatri Uniti co-production
Stalls: Full price € 33
Balcony: Full price € 26
Where and when to purchase tickets
It is possible to purchase tickets for programmed performances taking place from September to December and use vouchers as payment.
No subscriptions schemes are available for the aforementioned performances.
piccoloteatro.org
It is possible to purchase full-price and discounted tickets online. Tickets for all productions for the current season can be purchased up to one hour before the beginning of scheduled performances. Purchased tickets are sent by email at the moment of purchase and are available on the user’s personal profile. Tickets can be purchased with credit card.
Box office line +39 02.42.411.889
From Monday to Saturday from 9.45 a.m.to 6.45 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In the event of performances on bank holidays, the service is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It is possible to purchase full-price or discounted tickets (for under -26 and over -65).
Purchased tickets are sent by email.
Access to the auditorium with reduced-price tickets is subject to verification by the theatre personnel.
Payment can be made by credit card (with the exception of American Express).
Piccolo Teatro Strehler box office
The Teatro Strehler box office (L. go Greppi, 1 – Metro M2 station Lanza) observes the following opening hours: from Monday to Saturday 9.45 a.m. to 6.45 p.m.; Sundays 1 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.; closed on Sundays and bank holidays.
It is possible to purchase full-price or discounted tickets (for under -26 and over -65). Access to the auditorium with reduced-price tickets is subject to verification by the theatre personnel.
For the final hour before the beginning of a performance, the box office is available exclusively for the production that is due to begin.
Teatro Grassi and Teatro Studio Melato box offices
The Teatro Grassi and Teatro Studio Melato box offices are open solely on the day of performances for one hour before the beginning of the programmed performance.
For artistic reasons, access to the auditorium is not permitted once the performance has started. You may take your seat during any intervals.
Purchased tickets cannot be cancelled or substituted or be used for dates or times which differ from those indicated.
Safety measures for access to performances
• In order to avoid queues and crowing, spectators are invited to arrive at the place of performance in good time.
• It is possible to access the auditorium by showing your ticket directly from your smartphone.
• Spectators with a body temperature equal to or higher than 37.5°C will not be allowed access to the performance and will have the right to a refund for their ticket. The personnel at the entrance will have dedicated thermal scanners for measuring temperature.
• All spectators must wear face masks (general regulations apply for children) and sanitise their hands via the dedicated dispensers. Spectators without masks can ask for one at the entrance.
• The seating in the auditorium respects current distancing regulations.
Organised groups and audiences
For information on tickets and the use of vouchers for organised groups, please contact the Office for Public Promotion and Cultural Proposals on +39 02 72 333 216. email: promozione.pubblico@piccoloteatromilano.it
