Playing with shadow theatre and silhouettes, La meravigliosa avventura di Ciàula nella caverna is a simple and fun re-reading of Plato’s cave, seen through the filter of one of Pirandello’s most famous novels. It invites children to look for the reality that lies beyond appearances.
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Teatro Strehler - Scatola Magica
Telling the platonic story of the cave in the form of a fable, we accompany children on a journey to discover the first philosophical problems that we come up against from early childhood; what is the world that surrounds us like? Are things really as they seem? What hides behind appearances?
Our guide is Crow, the miner boy who discovered the moon in Pirandello’s novel. He accompanies us on an exploration of the Scatola Magica, which has been converted for the occasion into a strange underground cavern, with the outlines of objects and people projected onto its walls, a carousel of silhouettes from a play of lights on props, in the tradition of shadow theatre. The show is wonderful, and enchants the audience, but for Crow, the marvels are not enough. Our character is an inquisitive child; driven by the desire for knowledge, he begins to wonder what lies beyond that magical world, beyond the mouth of the cave, and invites the children to accompany him in his search. He discovers that the shadows are enlarged projections of tiny shapes, moved by an evil wizard who is behind them, manipulating the light to trick his audience; his aim is to get them to all fall asleep before the projected images, because whoever stays too long in the cave remains trapped there forever. Once the mystery has been revealed, Crow and his friends leave the underground tunnels and look at the surface world with new eyes, enjoying its full beauty.
A fun exploration of the difference between reality and its image, as well as a journey to discover the world of theatre and its tricks, gradually learning to tell the difference between reality and falsehood, even in real life.
Duration: 60’
Telling the platonic story of the cave in the form of a fable, we accompany children on a journey to discover the first philosophical problems that we come up against from early childhood; what is the world that surrounds us like? Are things really as they seem? What hides behind appearances?
Our guide is Crow, the miner boy who discovered the moon in Pirandello’s novel. He accompanies us on an exploration of the Scatola Magica, which has been converted for the occasion into a strange underground cavern, with the outlines of objects and people projected onto its walls, a carousel of silhouettes from a play of lights on props, in the tradition of shadow theatre. The show is wonderful, and enchants the audience, but for Crow, the marvels are not enough. Our character is an inquisitive child; driven by the desire for knowledge, he begins to wonder what lies beyond that magical world, beyond the mouth of the cave, and invites the children to accompany him in his search. He discovers that the shadows are enlarged projections of tiny shapes, moved by an evil wizard who is behind them, manipulating the light to trick his audience; his aim is to get them to all fall asleep before the projected images, because whoever stays too long in the cave remains trapped there forever. Once the mystery has been revealed, Crow and his friends leave the underground tunnels and look at the surface world with new eyes, enjoying its full beauty.
A fun exploration of the difference between reality and its image, as well as a journey to discover the world of theatre and its tricks, gradually learning to tell the difference between reality and falsehood, even in real life.
Duration: 60’
Credits
La meravigliosa avventura di Ciàula nella caverna
freely based on the Libro VII of the Republic by Plato and on the Crow discovers the moon by Luigi Pirandello
written and directed by Davide Carnevali
lights Manuel Frenda
costumes Marta Solari
with Daniele Cavone Felicioni, Michele Dell’Utri, Diana Manea, Giulia Trivero, Teachers (and Parents)
volunteer direction assistant Micol Jalla
a Piccolo Teatro di Milano - Teatro d'Europa production
With the support of
as part of the program Il teatro tiene banco
Tickets
Category of performance Piccolo Production
Single seat € 8
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The performance is not available for subscription holders
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tel. +39 02 72 333 216
email promozione.pubblico@piccoloteatromilano.it