On Saturday, May 23, the Magnetto Auditorium will host "Dal Sottosuolo – Underground," a show by and starring Barbara Mazzi and Francesco Gargiulo, with artistic consultancy by Marco Lorenzi and dramaturgical consultancy by Enrico Pastore. The production is by A.M.A. Factory, in co-production with Teatro Libero di Palermo, as part of the Fahrenheit 2020 #ArtNeedsTime project conceived by Il Mulino di Amleto.
The show began as an experiment in "expanded theater," built around participatory stage devices that lead spectators into the "underground" of thoughts, torment, cynicism, and human contradictions. The two performances that comprise the work draw inspiration from Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" and "The Grand Inquisitor," but develop independently, resulting in two one-act plays that address universal themes such as solitude, pain, rebirth, and ethical choices.
In the first act, "Would You Kill the Fat Man?", Francesco Gargiulo leads the audience into a sort of game show inspired by the famous philosophical paradox of the "Trolley Problem." Two contestants attempt to convince the audience to save their own track and sacrifice their opponent's, while the audience becomes progressively involved in complex moral decisions, taking on the role of the true protagonists of the scene.
In the second act, "G.I. – Grand Inquisitor?", starting with the question "Happiness or Freedom?", Barbara Mazzi constructs a participatory documentary that interweaves newspaper articles, images, interviews, and electronic music in a reflection on the relationship between happiness and freedom. A live montage culminates in a final choreography conceived as a gesture of individual and collective liberation, capable of transforming pain into the possibility of rebirth and communication.
Through participatory stage devices, visual art, music, and direct interaction with the audience, spectators are progressively drawn into a collective experience that places them first as a community and then as individuals facing uncomfortable questions and complex choices.
A journey that traverses the "underground" of the human soul, amidst nihilism, pain, empathy, and the need for connection, transforming the theater into a shared space for human and civil exchange.
Tickets: https://ticketitalia.com/camaleontika-2025.
Reservations: 3348785494 or rassegnacamaleontika@gmail.com.
