outcome of the Advanced Theatre Training Project 

Tre sorelle

by
Anton Cechov  

with (in alphabetical order)
Catherine Bertoni De Laet, Silvia Di Cesare, Daniele Di Pietro, Ion Donà, Sara Mafodda, Marco Mavaracchio, Davide Pascarella, Benedetto Patruno, Roberta Ricciardi, Edoardo Sabato, Jacopo Squizzato, Emilia Tiburzi

Il gabbiano

by
Anton Cechov 

rewritten by
Livia Rossi

with (in alphabetical order)
Giacomo Albites Coen, Alessandro Bandini, Matilde Bernardi, Silvia Di Cesare, Jonathan Lazzini, Marta Malvestiti, Alberto Marcello, Francesca Osso, Benedetto Patruno, Alberto Pirazzini

edited by
Carmelo Rifici

teachers
Tindaro Granata, Carmelo Rifici

stage director
Daniele Spanò

lighting designer
Giulia Pastore

sound engineers
Brian Burgan, Federica Furlani

stage manager
Giuseppe Marzoli

assistant director
Ugo Fiore

training and movement
Leonardo Castellani

lighting technician
Giovanni Voegeli

set design by
Matteo Bagutti at the LAC Laboratory.

production
LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura

in co-production with
Manifatture Teatrali Milanesi

Special thanks
Alessandra Giuntini for dramaturgical advice on Il gabbiano,
MAB – Maison des Artistes Bard and the Municipality of Roncobello for the artistic residencies.

Three Sisters tells the story of Olga, Masha and Irina, three sisters from the Russian nobility who live in a small provincial town, dreaming of returning to Moscow, symbol of a fuller and more meaningful life. Illusions, unhappy loves and existential disappointments revolve around them, while time passes and hope fades. Beneath the apparent naturalism of the plot, hidden by the theme of class struggle, a disturbing mechanism unfolds, driven by the characters' intimate, scandalous desire to stop time in an attempt to imprint themselves on the memory of history with the most edifying image of themselves. Everything, then, from the smallest stirrings of the heart to the last syllable uttered, becomes a lucid and authentic representation of humanity. The struggle against time is vital for them, yet there is a mocking, paradoxical irony in their desperate struggle. But how does this attempt translate to the actors who must interpret them? How does the human desire to escape, at any cost and definitively, from the dominion of oblivion reverberate?

The Seagull is a drama that revolves around a group of characters linked by theatre, love and dissatisfaction. The young writer Kostya tries to make a name for himself with a new theatre and loves Nina, an aspiring actress, who, however, falls in love with the famous writer Trigorin, linked to Kostya's mother, the great traditional actress Arkadina. Around them, unrequited passions, frustrated artistic ambitions and disillusionment intertwine. As soon as you read it, Chekhov's work appears untouchable, perfect. Yet the geopolitical upheavals currently affecting the world have suddenly exacerbated its distance. The characters in the text have strong ties to certain cities in Ukraine, which at the time of Chekhov was divided between the Tsarist and Habsburg empires and is now torn apart by war. We have tried to remain almost entirely faithful to the original text, working only on those lines that already shed light on recent history, without ever wanting to be entirely explicit about the exact moment in which the action takes place. The present time is moving too quickly to be captured on a page, especially during a tragic conflict that is still ongoing.