year: 2013

by and with Roberto Abbiati and Maurizio Lupinelli
assistant director Elisa Pol
production Nerval Teatro, Armunia Festival
with the support of Regione Toscana – Settore Spettacolo
photos Lucia Baldini

premiere Festival Inequilibrio 2013 di Castiglioncello, (LI)

Carezze is the story of two children and their friendship, told through the actions and glances of two eccentric guardians of an old institution packed full of memories. It is a journey through the memories of two adults still coming to terms with their childhood and their unforgotten past. Fragments of daily life and fantasy intertwine, helping them overcome difficulties and melancholy along the way.

The narration takes place using drawings and objects, with a vocabulary of noises and sounds typical of childhood. The characters and objects compose a visionary and imaginary dramaturgy. The imagery of childhood, of which memory is the custodian, is the key through which it is possible to locate themselves in the thread of the story.

The set design, like a large blackboard, reveals forgotten objects that come to life at the hands of a curious draughtsman: a small boat on stormy seas, a shipwreck, the air bubbles of a goldfish, a tennis ball, an octopus, an airplane, red scarves fluttering in the air… From the depths of the sea to the open skies, the fantastic journey of the two guardians/ children reminds us that friendship and a certain amount of imagination help get us through the hard times to an “elsewhere”; and that journey is what makes us grow.

“Carezze, Roberto Abbiati and Maurizio Lupinelli’s fanciful play at the festival of the Ligurian coast is an amusing and imaginative journey for children (the festival is geared for this audience) through the comic and devastating little tragedies of childhood.”
[M.Marino, Corrieredibologna.it, 10 July 2013]

“A whimsical, at times melancholy show that uses elements of childhood (magic lanterns, music boxes, shadow puppets, pencil drawings projected onto the backdrop) mixed with theatrical acting.”
[M.Bertacca, Persinsala.it, 7 July 2013]