The independent theatre company I Gordi stages a show that breaks an ancestral taboo, freeing the wake from the solemnity imposed by ritual to bring out its most authentically human dimension, with comical and disarming results: because life, even in the tragedy of its end, remains a form of comedy.

On stage, an open coffin, some vestments and a few visitors. Thus, the wake becomes a tragic comedy of life. In rituals, death must appear to be a rest, the deceased still present, the pain unanimous and the ceremony adhering to the last or presumed wishes. But these premises always clash with the different truths of the relatives, the unexpected, the awkwardness and the different ways of dealing with grief. Some drink beer with the dead, some answer the phone, some cry desperately, some cannot cry at all...
A resident company at the Franco Parenti Theatre, I Gordi continue their exploration of a theatrical form that relies primarily on gesture, bodies with and without masks, and sparse, essential words/sounds that transcend all linguistic barriers.