(Jun. 6th) – Foggia, Viale Giotto 120. The night between November 10th and 11s, 1999, a six-storey building collapsed in 19 seconds. 67 dead, 28 survivors. In Paris, this story was told through a play written and performed by Michele De Virgilio, “Tonino a testa in giù”. Tonino is the protagonist, a fictional survivor of that tragedy. “We are proud of this success. It represents the pride of our territory and our community.” So said Billa Consiglio, Vice President of the Foggia Province of Foggia and councilor for Culture, speaking about the success of “Tonino a testa in giù”, a play by Michele De Virgilio, directed by Marie-Pascale Osterrieth. In recent days, the play has been on stage in Paris, at ” Kiron Espace “, and has won the prize “Eolo Awards 2012”. “Both these achievements are proof of the quality of the productions of our province,” continued Billa Consiglio. “Tonino a testa in giù” has been sold out in Foggia, where everyone remembers that tragic event. “I have this feeling that everything is collapsing. I wrote this monologue inspired by tragic events such the collapse of a palaces in Rome and Barletta, or the earthquake in L’Aquila,” said Michele De Virgilio, author of the play. “I didn’t investigate the causes of the collapses. I just brought on stage fragments of life, using the collapse as a metaphor for the disintegration of rules and values, a sign of civic and moral decadence that has marked recent years.” (red)
