(May 2) “The figure of Penelope has always fascinated me. I’ve always loved that myth: Penelope is a lonely but heroic woman. One day, after reading the articles of Anna Politkovskaya, I thought to approach the Homeric myth to the tragic reality of the Chechn War.” Marco Calvani, born in Prato in 1980, tells how started its “Penelope in Grozny”, a “real drama matched with a classic story” on stage from May 3 to 13 in Rome, at the Teatro Vascello. Written and directed by Cavani, the show debuted at the Berlin Kunsthaus Tachleles on December 5, 2009: “An amazing place – says Calvani – where we had a good recption from both from the local press and the Italian community living in Germany”. Starting from the figure of the Russian journalist, Calvani has rewritten the greek myth with a look at Pasolini: “In ‘Penelope in Grozny’ the myth of Penelope moves in today’s Chechnya, a country where executions without trial are routine. I tried to reconstruct the daily life in wartime.” The director, among the young Italian most represented in France, defines his work “beautiful but tough.” “To me, writing is like a medicine. I write what I think, and I strongly believe that theater is the only place where you have room for freedom of expression. What I put on stage is an ambitious show. It is not easy to handle sixteen players (from Spain, Germany, England and Italy). To make this work – continues Calvani – you need a strong motivation.” “Penelope in Grozny” is dedicated to women, as he admits: “There are those women who struggle. Sometimes these women are alone or abandoned.” “Penelope in Grozny – he concludes – is a disdainful parable of any totalitarian regime and invites to thinks about war and violence.” (Gil/Red)
