On stage: an open casket, some funeral vestments, and a few visitors. Thus, the wake becomes a final, tragic comedy of life. In these rituals, death must appear to be a rest, the deceased still present, the grief unanimous, and the ceremony in accordance with the deceased’s last—or presumed—wishes. But these expectations always clash with the differing realities of the bereaved, the unexpected events, the awkwardness, and the various ways of coping with grief. Some drink a beer with the deceased, others answer the phone, some weep desperately, and others simply cannot bring themselves to cry... 
As the resident company at the Teatro Franco Parenti, I Gordi continue their exploration of a theatrical form that relies first and foremost on gesture, on bodies with and without masks, and on sparse, essential speech and sound that transcends all language barriers.