Theatre: the ‘Il Parco e la Commedia’ festival returns to Sabaudia

Now in its 15th edition, the festival has attracted growing public interest and participation. “Parco e la Commedia” returns to Sabaudia in the picturesque setting of the Circeo National Park from 18 July to 2 August: eighteen events organised through the collaboration of the Pro Loco Sabaudia Association, the Circeo National Park and the town of Sabaudia, under the patronage of the Lazio Region, the Province of Latina, Confcommercio Lazio Sud and UILT (Italian Free Theatre Union).

The festival revolves around this central theme: there are stories – as the organisers point out – that exist ‘only when someone decides to make them their own. Others take shape the moment one gaze meets another, a laugh becomes a chorus, or applause breaks the silence. It is there that theatre rediscovers its most authentic meaning: in the bonds that are forged between the stage and those who inhabit it, between artists and the audience, between experiences that seem distant and lives we discover to be close to our own’. Hence the choice of theatre that ‘weaves bonds’, of theatre that ‘meets nature’ with the opening night performance ‘Prima che sia Prima’ and the Insieme per Caso theatre company in Eduardo de Filippo’s ‘Sogno di una notte di mezza sbornia’, directed by Angelo Grieco.

On Sunday 19th, Matutateatro’s production of *The Little Prince* will be staged. ‘The Park and the Comedy,’ says Gennaro Di Leva, president of the Pro Loco Sabaudia Association, ‘like theatre, stem from a simple gesture: “someone tells a story and someone else decides to stop and listen to it. At a time when it is increasingly easy to share content and increasingly difficult to share experiences, theatre continues to offer us a rare privilege: that of experiencing the same story, together, at the same moment.”

Eighteen performances that explore the value of relationships in their most diverse forms. The bond between parents and children, between humankind and nature, between memory and identity, between community and place, between imagination and childhood, between love and anticipation. ‘Relationships that are forged, broken, mended or simply rediscovered. Because every story brought to the stage – as the organisers explain – despite the diversity of languages and genres, offers a multifaceted perspective on the individual and the relationships that define them, inviting the audience to recognise themselves in others and to rediscover the theatre as a special place of encounter.”

The festival will feature theatre companies and artists from all over Italia, presenting individual and collective memories, folk tales, great classics, contemporary stories and characters that appeal to audiences of all ages. In keeping with the policy established since the very first edition, admission to all performances will be free.