the secret of arlecchino and pulcinella
in event of rain, the performance will take place at Auditorium Biagio Marin
The world of puppets resembles our own in many ways; it is populated by all kinds of characters: the beautiful and the ugly, the friendly and the unfriendly, the good and the bad. Arlecchino and Pulcinella amuse young and old alike with their farces; they have a secret that allows them to touch people’s hearts, but there are those who do not find this to their liking.
Mr Sacripanti wants to rule over everything – even laughter and tears – and he wants to get hold of their secret, even if it comes at the cost of selling his soul to the devil or turning himself into a terrifying ghost. But fortunately, he won’t succeed; the friendship between Arlecchino and Pulcinella, along with the children’s suggestions, will lead to a happy ending in this story too.
Written and performed by Alberto De Bastiani
Alberto De Bastiani, actor and puppeteer, began his career in 1982. Turning professional in 1988, he co-founded Circo Tre Dita with Pierpaolo Di Giusto, performing at major Italian and international festivals and winning, among other accolades, the Best Show award at the Festival Internazionale del Teatro per ragazzi di Porto Sant’Elpidio in 1998.
With shows such as La storia di Pinocchio, Storie di Lupi, and Fortunato e i tre capelli d’oro dell’orco, he combines figure theatre techniques with acting research focused on storytelling. Among his other productions are Arlecchino e la torta del destino (2003), Santi e briganti (2006), La leggenda di coniglio volante (2008), and Il ritorno di Irene (2016), all written and directed by Gigio Brunello.
He has taken his shows to Spain, Portugal, Austria, Slovenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Pakistan, Mexico, Ecuador, and Eritrea. In 2006, he won the Premio nazionale Silvano d’Orba ai bravi burattinai d’Italia. Since 2000, he has been organizing and directing the Festival internazionale Burattini & Marionette/Omaggio a Fausto Braga in collaboration with the Municipality of Colle Umberto TV.