History, family, existence, imagination. Infinitesimal details and long shots. The landscape is not a background but a form of life that acts and interacts with what moves within it. Elogio della vita a rovescio / Tre storie (In Praise of a Topsy-Turvy Lifestyle / Three stories) takes its name from an essay by Karl Kraus and is a first production based on The vegetarian, a novel by Korean writer Han Kang. It moves along the line of tension that is unleashed between the inescapable impulse to narrate and the appearance of silent figures who steadfastly choose not to “explain” themselves anymore, to resist the sensation that one exists only if one tells of oneself.
A premiere at Short Theatre 2023, Elogio della vita a rovescio / Tre storie (In Praise of a Topsy-Turvy Lifestyle / Three stories) focuses on the relationship between two sisters. Even though we only see the sister who thinks she got away, the osmosis between the two is an infinite current that overturns concepts such as health, awareness and the correctness of choices. This praise of a topsy-turvy lifestyle is also an acknowledgment that the other sister – the strange one, the dead one, the one who left us, or is leaving us, who has gone away – did what she did for us too. In the background, incessantly, is the violence of domestic relations. And against the backdrop of all this, the violence of the world.
Daria Deflorian is an actress, author and director. In 2012 she won the Ubu Award for Best Actress and in 2013 she was awarded the Hystrio Award. In 2008 and after years of independent productions she began to work with Antonio Tagliarini. Their shows, presented in Italy and across Europe, have received numerous awards: the Ubu Award for Best Text in 2014, 2015 Best Foreign Show in Canada, the Riccione Award for drama in 2019 and the Hystrio Award for drama in 2021. In 2020 they staged the text by Edouard Louis entitled Who killed my Father, which in 2021 won the Ubu Award for Best Actor under 35 for its protagonist, Francesco Alberici. Their texts are published by Titivillus, Cue Press and Sossella editore. Daria Deflorian is an associated artist at the Milan Triennale 2022/2024.
a project by Daria Deflorian shared with Giulia Scotti
freely inspired by Han Kang novel
with Giulia Scotti
dramaturgical collaboration Andrea Pizzalis
assistant direction Chiara Boitani
light design Giulia Pastore
sound design Emanuele Pontecorvo
contributions Silvia Rampelli
direction Daria Deflorian
production, organizzazione, amministrazione Valentina Bertolino, Silvia Parlani, Grazia Sgueglia
production A.D. 2023
in partnership with Index Muta Imago, TeatroBasilica and Lottounico – Carrozzerie | n.o.t
ph. Andrea Pizzalis
