The Angel of the Hearth at the Piccolo: "Against Violence, Art Doesn't Stand Silent"

The image has something South American about it. As if we were in the realms of a slightly deviant magical realism. Where the living traffic with the dead. Side by side. As if nothing had happened. But in this case, it's an image with ferocious overtones. Violent. Since the one left suspended in a sort of non-life is a woman killed by her husband. Every evening he smashes her head in with an iron. And every morning she comes back to life. Waking up to clean, cook, take care of her. To be raped again. Once again. A thousand times more. Because no one believes her anyway. A powerful synthesis is the starting point of Emma Dante's " L'angelo del focolare ," opening today at the Teatro Grassi on Via Rovello. This is the Palermo director's fourth production at the Piccolo. The first dates back to 2016, at the time of the controversial "Bestie di scena." A collaboration that has never stopped. And which last year brought the much-loved "Re Chicchinella" to Milan. A complete debut. With Dante writing, directing, sets, and costumes. "It's a work born from a profound and heartbreaking need," explains the director, "even if it's not an easy subject to tackle. But art must also address inconveniences and major issues. I believe it can be defined as an exploration of domestic violence as routine maintenance, while questioning how many times a woman dies in this situation before actually dying. Because this woman dies every minute. And every minute, those who suffer psychological violence at home, deprived of a safety net and completely dependent on others, die." The characters are nameless. As if to emphasize only their social function: Wife, Husband, Son, Mother-in-law. An organizational chart of submission. Played on stage by David Leone, Giuditta Perriera, Ivano Picciallo, Leonarda Saffi. While a dining room of demons, rather than angels, is being created. Where breath is lost and hope is lacking. A dynamic of intractable and deep-rooted violence. A cultural phenomenon. Which, as such, presupposes a very long journey before change occurs. "There's no news reporting and it's not a documentary," concludes Emma Dante . "It's a surreal, poetic vision. Because there's poetry in this woman's pain, a sense of identification. The Wife can't die, because her death is part of a routine. When she's killed by her Husband, her Son, her Mother-in-law, and the Husband himself bring her back to life, asking her to get up because the day must begin again, because that violence and that death have become part of the fabric of the home. This family lives by eating each other, devouring each other. While the wife makes the bed with her face covered in blood, a sign that as the story unfolds, we end up not even noticing. And perhaps this is the atrocity, the worst thing we do: forgetting those wounds." Reruns until November 30.

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