IL CAMBIO DEI CAVALLI

by Franca Valeri

with

director Giuseppe Marini

scenery Alessandro Chiti

Franca Valeri’s attire by Roberto Capucci

Urbano Barberini’s attire by Sagripanti

Alice Torriani’s attire curated by Helga H. Williams

lighting Michelangelo Vitullo

assistant director Riccardo Francia

stage manager Alessandro Sorrenti

assistant stage design Fabiana Di Marco

seamstress Maria Rita De Mercurio

stage design O.C.S.A. Pomezia

wigs Rocchetti

footwear Pompei

service S.T.A.S. by Rodolfo Feliciangeli

transport Botticelli

press office Margherita Fusi

photography Federico Riva

administrator Angelo Montano

production Società per Attori in collaboration with Compagnia Urbano Barberini

Such an original artist, that has spanned the history of Italian show business and that is a cornerstone of Italian culture, surely needs no introduction. A unique career amongst theater, radio, movies and television which has lasted more than sixty years speaks for itself, characterized by an unmistakable style, based on an intelligent and subtle use of irony.

Being an attentive reader of society and its dynamics, she associates her value as an actress, to that of author and intellectual who has modernized the language, invented masks and forged authentic prototypes of comedy. Franca Valeri has never stopped being innovative, while remaining always true to herself and her cultured, refined, dense, but also incredibly popular language style.

In confirmation of her boundless artistic vitality, today she is presenting us her latest dramatic jewel, Il cambio dei cavalli, where the usual, biting sarcasm is embraced to an awe-inspiring writing wit. A text which, as always, involves, entertains and makes you think, thanks to the strong and dreamy expression of the characters that animate it, the snappy dialogue full of intelligent and lovable hostility, the brilliant and nipping jokes, the wealth of reflections and aphorisms.

"There is never abstraction in her writing: one laughs a lot but, compared to the great authors of the absurd, Franca Valeri gives every joke, even the most seemingly enigmatic, a solid existential anchor. And it is a pleasure to treasure her disillusioned wisdom and her extraordinary talent in remaining intimately and authentically young because tirelessly curious and open".

An ironic and refined old lady; a wealthy businessman (son of the historic lover, who died a few years ago, and the old lady); a kind of escort, social climber. The businessman zooms, indolent and annoyed, along his path as financial expert and son of a bitch, but more and more often he takes a break, in fact, "the change of horses", from his unlikely and understanding stepmother. He holds bizarre, lateral conversations with her, but they profoundly touch his existential weakness. And the girl? The girl, in spite of everything, will marry him in the end.

Over the centuries A change of horses was what today is called gas up. The journey continues, the horses are fresh, the tank is full. The topic fascinates me metaphorically as, if theater has been able to touch the sublime heights of drama as well as take on the onerous task of interpreter of the civil lawsuit, it certainly is, as always, the best container for the secret ambiguity of human relationships.

The main character of this play has a comforting, and at the same time clarifying role in the life of two men (one described, the other present) which is the meaning of true complicity.

The two men are father and son, therefore the problem of the generational conflict is often dealt with on stage.

I have written for Urbano Barberini again, confiding in his refined ability to interpret the anxiety of modern man.

Two generations had to be contrasted with a third, so here we have a young woman. Even her impudence could mask the "fatigue of her horses".

But of course, it is a farce.

In addition to that unmistakable and undeniable mix of tact, irony, wit and levity that have erected her stainless and very personal style across the years, I was fascinated by Franca Valeri’s new comedy for the grace and originality she uses to meditate on the generational problem, on the load and encumbrance of Fathers upon the lives and future of Children, especially on sons ...

With Il cambio dei cavalli, it seems that Franca Valeri, who has always been dedicated to the surgical and irresistible "inspection" into the female soul, has fun using her pen-knife to sound out the unsolved male crux stigmatized by the paradigmatic question of Hamlet "to be or not to be", inflected, obviously, in her own way.

An interesting rhapsodic phrasing, very original "ruptures" and "staccatos" give the new comedy that very particular lightness of depth, typical of the truly great, that after having observed and understood at length, know well how to look after and protect themselves from the danger of taking themselves too seriously ...

Born in Milan, but Roman by adoption, Franca Valeri (name of art chosen in homage to writer Paul Valéry) boasts an exceptional career: actress, screenwriter, director, author. She arrives in theater almost by chance, after having revealed her satirical skills in the worldly, intellectual gatherings of Milan, where she enjoys giving life to characters inspired by contemporary costume based on frivolity and hypocrisy - faithful mirrors of a bourgeois environment

In the beginning there was radio, when her role as "Miss Cesira" raged in broadcasts such as Il rosso e il nero, actors school for the "Italian comedy" of the 50s. Then, with the coming of television, she was "Miss Snob" and attained popularity as "Mrs. Cecioni" (to be more precise, "the daughter of sora Augusta, married to Cecioni"). The theater and, above all, the movies saw her as a discreet and intelligent protagonist: thanks to her versatility and amazing ability to observe and expressively replicate – without mercy, sometimes even with cruelty - the most eloquent tics of bourgeois respectability, she managed to carve out a very personal and stylistically unique space. In 1951 she makes her first appearance in theater (with the Gobbi theater company, which she founded together with Alberto Bonucci and Vittorio Caprioli) and also in movies, with a small part in Variety Lights by Alberto Lattuada and Federico Fellini. Since then, without ever losing sight of theater and television, she has starred alongside "legends" of Italian cinema: Toto (fortunate appearance in Totò in color in 1952), Vittorio De Sica, Alberto Sordi and Sophia Loren. She is directed by film directors such as Dino Risi (Il segno di Venere, 1955; The Widower,1959), Mario Monicelli (A Hero of Our Time, 1955), Luigi Comencini (Husbands in the city, 1957), Steno (Piccola posta, 1955), Mauro Bolognini (Arrangiatevi! 1959), Alessandro Blasetti (Io, io, io … e gli altri, 1965, La ragazza del bersagliere, 1967). In the 70s and 80s, there were numerous hilarious participations in television variety shows and, more recently, her funny appearances in sit-coms and television series are greatly appreciated.

In all these years Franca Valeri has never stopped doing theater: just to mention the most significant works of the last decade: Mal di Madre by Pierre Olivier Scotto, directed by Patrick Rossi Gastaldi, Alcool by Adriana Asti, directed by Giorgio Ferrara, Possesso by Abraham Ben Yehoshua, directed by Toni Bertorelli, La vedova Socrate from Friedrich Durrenmatt, written, directed and interpreted by her, Il Giocatore by Carlo Goldoni, directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, Carnet de Notes written and interpreted by her, and Les Bonnes by Jean Genet, both directed by Giuseppe Marini. Currently, her latest play Non tutto è risolto, directed by Giuseppe Marini, sees her on stage in major Italian theaters.

Not only an actress, but also a scriptwriter, director and author, she has published numerous books: Il diario della signorina Snob (Mondadori 1951, Lindau 2003), Le donne (Longanesi 1960), Le Catacombe (Cappelli 1961), Questa qui, quello là (Longanesi 1965), Toh, quante donne (Mondadori 1992, Lindau 2004), Tragedie da ridere (La Tartaruga 2003), Animali e altri attori (Nottetempo 2005) Di tanti palpiti (La Tartaruga 2009), Bugiarda no, reticente (Einaudi 2010), Non tutto è risolto (Einaudi 2011), L’educazione delle fanciulle (with Luciana Littizzetto, Einaudi 2011) and the updated edition of Le donne (Einaudi 2012).

He devotes the first part of his career to filmmaking and television. Among the many films in which he participated we remember Otello by Franco Zeffirelli, Opera by Dario Argento, Miss Arizona alongside Marcello Mastroianni, Acque di primavera by Jerzy Skolimowsky, La Bibbia by Roger Young, Come mi vuoi by Carmine Amoroso, Les montagnes bleues by Paolo Barzman, Maria Josè by Carlo Lizzani, La vita cambia alongside Mariangela Melato and Isabella Ferrari, Una sola debole voce 2 and Nel mio amore with Licia Maglietta. There are also numerous television productions, even international, including 3 TV series in Great Britain, TECX and Strathblair (BBC prod.), and recently Cinderella by Christian Daguy.

In 1996 he makes his theater debut with an Italian novelty by Daniele Falleri, Sulle spine, which, in addition to receiving excellent feedback from critics, marks the meeting with Franca Valeri and the beginning of a fruitful artistic collaboration that still sees them together on stage.

Among the latest shows, always in the leading role, there is: Non tutto è risolto by Franca Valeri directed by Giuseppe Marini, Mal di madre by Pierre Oliver Scotto directed by Patrick Rossi Gastaldi, Possesso by Abraham Yehoshua directed by Toni Bertorelli, Il giuocatore by Goldoni, directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, Blue Orange by Joe Penhall directed by Franca Valeri, Processo a Giulio Cesare by Corrado Augias directed by Giorgio Ferrara and 39 Steps by John Buchan directed by Maria Aitken.

In 2012, he starts his own theater company bringing Sulle spine on stage again with a new director and new staging. The show was recently staged in Rome and at the Italian Cultural Institute in London. In 2013, he is at the Spoleto Festival with a text by Neil LaBute, Incantevole - Lovely Head, directed by Marco Calvani.

After studying at the Weber Douglas of London and the prestigious Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles he maintained a constant interest in contemporary British and American drama. He translated and performed, for the first time in Italy, John Penhall, one of the most popular British playwrights.

His work as an interpreter today is flanked by that as an agricultural entrepreneur. He is the administrator, with the title of Grand Cross of Bali, for the Bailiwick of St. Sebastian in the SMOM. He is the founder and coordinator of the Committee "Save Villa Adriana" who fought against the establishment of a landfill near the UNESCO site and still today fights for the promotion and protection of the ancient Agro Romano. In 2012 he became the artistic director of the Festival "Save Villa Adriana" aimed at raising public awareness on the economic-touristic potential of the area and proposing an alternative of sustainable development in an archaeologically valuable area.

A graduate from the Academy of Dramatic Art Paolo Grassi of Milano in 2007, she works in the theater with Massimo Castri (Tre Sorelle), Alvis Hermanis (Le Signorine di Wilko), Carmelo Rifici (Visita al padre) and Gabriele Lavia (Memorie dal Sottosuolo). She continues her training doing National and International internships (Antonio Latella, Luca Ronconi, Danio Manfredini, Chiara Guidi, Fausto Paravidino, Margie Haber, Jordan Bayne). In the last few years she has collaborated with young theater directors like Thea Dellavalle and Antonio Mingarelli.

For the cinema, she worked with Valerio Mieli in Dieci Inverni, Alina Marazzi in Tutto parla di te, Lucio Pellegrini in È nata una star, Claudio Noce in Good morning Aman. For television, she has taken part in several television series, the latest being Le mani dentro la città directed by Alessandro Angelini, currently on air. In autumn, her first novel will be released, published by Fandango books.

Giuseppe Marini lives and works in Rome. After diligent artistic training and considerable activity as an actor, he makes his directorial debut with his ensemble, parol&musica, in performances with strong visual and sound impact, very personal scenic work and is never separated from strong, solid drama

Among his performances: QUADrat by Samuel Beckett, Una Casa di Bambola by Henrik Ibsen (which cast him into a prominent position among the new directors of the national scene and marked the beginning of collaboration with the Società per Attori of Rome ), Il figliastro by Massimiliano Palmese, Un sogno di una notte di mezza estate by William Shakespeare (a big success with audiences and critics, at the fourth year of touring in 2007), Tiny Dinamite by Abi Morgan, Kouros, tragedy in verse by Ludovica Ripa di Meana and Antigone by Sophocles.

In 2006 he stages his very personal version of Les Bonnes by Jean Genet, with Franca Valeri, Annamaria Guarnieri, Patrizia Zappa Mulas, staged at the Teatro Argentina of Rome, at the Piccolo Teatro of Milan. In September 2007 he directs Pino Micol in Filottete by Sophocles at the Teatro Olimpico of Vicenza and in April 2008 he directs Amleto by William Shakespare presented at the Teatro India of Rome. In March 2009 he directs Carnet de Notes by and with Franca Valeri presented at the Teatro della Cometa of Rome and in October 2010 he stages, in the same Teatro della Cometa, Shakespeare’s masterpiece Romeo e Giulietta, a co-production Società per Attori-Teatro Stabile del Veneto. Afterwards, he directs the new play by Franca Valeri Non tutto è risolto with Franca Valeri, Licia Maglietta, Urbano Barberini and Gabriella Franchini, staged in January 2011 at the Teatro Valle of Rome and on tour in the major Italian theaters. He directs Ugo Pagliai and Paola Gassman in Wordstar(s) by Vitaliano Trevisan, staged at the Teatro Goldoni of Venice in September 2011 and, by the same author, Oscillazioni with Giordano De Plano staged at the Teatro Cometa of Rome in May 2012. Finally, in November 2012 he directs the adaptation of La locandiera by Carlo Goldoni with Nancy Brilli, which is staged at the Teatro Manzoni of Milan in January 2013.

For RAI-Radio Tre he directed the radio broadcast of Quartet by Heiner Müller, with Annamaria Guarnieri and Carlo Cecchi.

He begins his artistic career in theater with the "Società per Attori" for which he designs the scenes of numerous successful performances directed by Giovanni Lombardo Radice. Later, he collaborates with the Teatro della Cometa and the Teatro Vittoria of Rome, designing numerous performances including: Volevamo essere gli U2, Bruciati, Uomini senza donne, Testimoni, with "emerging" actors such as Alessandro Gassman, Giammarco Tognazzi, Kim Rossi Stuart, Amanda Sandrelli, Enrico Lo Verso, etc. He also designs the scenes for musicals, including: Il pianeta proibito, Porci con le ali, Stanno suonando la nostra canzone, etc. and is present in numerous Italian Festivals such as the one in Spoleto and the Teatro Greco of Siracusa.

He has worked for years with the Plexus by Lucio Ardenzi, designing the scenery for shows of great success with actors such as: Massimo Dapporto, Anna Proclemer, Giorgio Albertazzi, Jonny Dorelli, etc., working with numerous directors including: Antonio Calenda, Giorgio Ferrara, Ugo Chiti, Angelo Longoni, Giuseppe Marini, Giancarlo Sepe, Massimo Venturiello, etc. He has designed the scenes of many "classic" shows. Just to mention a few: La locandiera, La tempesta, La bisbetica domata, Fedra, Le vespe, Liolà, Amleto, Romeo e Giulietta, Il borghese gentiluomo, with actors Anna Galiena, Massimo Venturiello, Elisabetta Pozzi, Giorgio Albertazzi, Nancy Brilli, etc. For Gigi Proietti, Vincenzo Salemme and Franca Valeri he designed the sets of their latest shows including: Buonasera, Il diavolo custode, L’astice al veleno, Le serve, Non tutto è risolto.

For opera, he designed the scenes for the operetta by Cimarosa L’italiana in Londra at the Petruzzelli of Bari, La duchessa di Chicago by Kálmán for the Verdi of Trieste, Werther by Massenet for the Regio of Parma, La vedova allegra by Lehár for the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome.

Born in Rome in 1976, after completing high school, he takes an interest in theatrical lighting in 1996 and starts working initially, with an amateur company and after attending an introductory course to illuminating engineering held by Giancarlo Bottone, on a professional level. From the early years of this decade he works in drama productions as head electrician in various touring companies often creating the lighting design of the shows, and later/afterwards is dedicated to the technical management of various festivals, theater reviews and events. Over the past few years he has collaborated with numerous theater productions including: Società per Attori, Associazione Teatro di Roma, Compagnia Mario Chiocchio, Sastrerie Produzioni, Fattore K, Accademia degli Artefatti, The Dreamers, EmmeVu teatro, Teatro Stabile dell’Aquila, Teatro Vittoria Attori&Tecnici. In the biennium 2010/2012 he worked at Stage Entertainment Italy in the role of Deputy Head of Electrician department at the Brancaccio Theater of Rome, where he could deal with European standards of teamwork on stage for the set up of highly complex and technologically advanced shows, as well as improving his knowledge of English in the theater ambit. He also explored the use of sophisticated lighting consoles, specifically GrandMa, adding to the consoles already known and used such as Compulite, Wholehog and Jands systems. In recent years he has been one of the trainers for basic and advanced courses on theatrical illuminating engineering.