Variazioni enigmatiche

An author, winner of the Nobel prize for literature, lives isolated on an island in the Norwegian sea. A journalist decides to meet and interview him. Mauri and Sturno bring one of their greatest successes back to the stage.

26 May - 6 June 2021

Teatro Strehler

Written by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt - playwright, novelist and philosopher -, it is a psychological thriller, a sentimental chess game played on a knife’s edge by two characters: the Nobel-prize-winning author Abel Znorko, who has chosen to isolate himself from the world, and the journalist Erik Larsen, who wants to get an exclusive interview.
“Znorko - explains Mauri - has taken refuge on a remote island in the Norwegian sea, and in this state of solitude he keeps his love for a mysterious woman alive through an exchange of love letters that has been going on for twenty years. Larsen wants to meet him, allegedly for an interview. But what is his real reason? And why has this solitary and misanthropic man accepted, for the first time, to receive an unknown journalist? An emotional thriller played out to the beat of dramatic plot twists, in which two men clash in an alternation of cruelty and tenderness, of bitter irony and deep emotion; an interview that soon transforms into a breathless and fascinating uncovering of buried truths”.
«Enigma Variations – says Tarasco – is a psychological thriller, an endless face-off, in which, in a constant exchange of illusion and evasion (the original sense of the Italian words, illusione and elusione, in-ludo and ex-ludo, express the actions of entering into and retreating from play, Nt). However, as Schmitt suggests, enchanting us with his poetry, seeped in brotherly humanity, are we sure that truth reveals any more than lies?”.

Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes (one interval)

Written by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt - playwright, novelist and philosopher -, it is a psychological thriller, a sentimental chess game played on a knife’s edge by two characters: the Nobel-prize-winning author Abel Znorko, who has chosen to isolate himself from the world, and the journalist Erik Larsen, who wants to get an exclusive interview.
“Znorko - explains Mauri - has taken refuge on a remote island in the Norwegian sea, and in this state of solitude he keeps his love for a mysterious woman alive through an exchange of love letters that has been going on for twenty years. Larsen wants to meet him, allegedly for an interview. But what is his real reason? And why has this solitary and misanthropic man accepted, for the first time, to receive an unknown journalist? An emotional thriller played out to the beat of dramatic plot twists, in which two men clash in an alternation of cruelty and tenderness, of bitter irony and deep emotion; an interview that soon transforms into a breathless and fascinating uncovering of buried truths”.
«Enigma Variations – says Tarasco – is a psychological thriller, an endless face-off, in which, in a constant exchange of illusion and evasion (the original sense of the Italian words, illusione and elusione, in-ludo and ex-ludo, express the actions of entering into and retreating from play, Nt). However, as Schmitt suggests, enchanting us with his poetry, seeped in brotherly humanity, are we sure that truth reveals any more than lies?”.

Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes (one interval)

Credits

Piccolo Teatro Strehler
from 26 May to 6 June 2021
Variazioni enigmatiche
by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt
translated and adapted by Glauco Mauri
directed by Matteo Tarasco
sets and costumes by Alessandro Camera
music by Vanja Sturno
with Glauco Mauri and Roberto Sturno
a Compagnia Mauri Sturno production

Tickets
Stalls full price € 33
Balcony full price € 26

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You may take your seat during any intervals.
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Safety measures for access to performances

In order to prevent queues and crowding, we invite spectators to arrive at the venue for the show in advance of the scheduled start time.
For access face masks must be worn (or an alternative form of protection approved by the Lombardy Region. Non-medical masks are prohibited). The face mask must be worn for the entire duration of the play. “Courtesy” face masks will be available for spectators who do not have suitable protection. Hands must be sanitised via the dedicated dispensers.
Personnel at the entrance will have dedicated thermal scanners for measuring temperature. Spectators with a body temperature equal to or higher than 37.5°C will not be granted access.
seats assigned guarantee respect for regulations regarding interpersonal distancing.
Spectators are kindly requested to follow the instructions provided by the ushers as well as via audio and visual indications in the venue.

Groups
For information on tickets and the use of vouchers for organised groups, please contact the Office for Public Promotion and Cultural Proposals
tel. +39 02.72.333.216
email promozione.pubblico@piccoloteatromilano.it