Luca De Filippo, in an exhibition entitled ‘The Boundaries of My World’

The title chosen for the exhibition dedicated to Luca De Filippo, at the Neapolitan foundation named after his father Eduardo, is highly telling: “The boundaries of my world are myself”, a statement through which one can understand his entire career as an actor and director, and the essence of his ongoing personal and artistic quest.

Housed in a venue steeped in atmosphere and memories – the building constructed by the renowned playwright and actor Eduardo Scarpetta, father of three children he never acknowledged, Titina, Peppino and the one who would bear his name – and within this building, in the flat once occupied by Titina, the exhibition is curated by Maria Procino, historian and consultant to the foundation, and by art historian Serena Schioppa. It presents a selection of materials, including photographs, posters and programme booklets, from the many productions staged by Luca, alongside a number of costumes, to evoke his presence even more vividly.

Then there is a room full of objects and fragments of set designs, inviting those who have seen the shows to recognise, amongst that amusing back-of-the-stage bric-a-brac, the sarcophagus from La grande magia or the armchair from Filumena Marturano, alongside one of the trunks used on tour, on which a hammer bearing Luca’s own name is clearly visible, ready to be used to hammer in a few nails, as only a true craftsman of the stage like him would have known how to do. There are also three video stations: in the first, you can see clips from his many film appearances; in another, some excerpts from his theatre performances; whilst the third is dedicated to reflections on the actor’s craft. In one interview clip, the artist states, “I never questioned Eduardo, but I did question my father.”

And it was precisely in this sense that it was of the utmost importance to him to emphasise that the scope within which he operated was not merely determined by the influence of his illustrious father, but was defined on a case-by-case basis in accordance with his curiosity and his desire to test himself in other creative fields. It is precisely through these many mementoes and documents that we are reminded of the historic productions in which he acted alongside his father, from his debut at the age of seven as Peppeniello in Scarpetta’s *Miseria e Nobiltà*, right up to the masterpieces from his father’s repertoire staged after Eduardo’s death, which he interpreted from a perspective that always revealed something new. But the exhibition also features numerous traces of his work with other playwrights, from Molière to Pirandello, from Beckett to Pinter, whilst also collaborating with other directors, such as Benno Besson, Armando Pugliese and Francesco Rosi. A desire for discovery that, in the final years of his career, led to a careful and in-depth exploration of comic registers, culminating in his last, memorable production of Eduardo’s *i* *Non ti pago* in 2015.

“The boundaries of my world are myself. Luca De Filippo 1948–2015”, Naples, Eduardo De Filippo Foundation, until 24 November.