The House by the Medlar Tree (I Malavoglia)

The show at the Quirino Theater tells about the main events of the protagonists of the famous novel by Giovanni Verga, a family of fishermen who lives and works in Aci Trezza, a small Sicilian town near Catania. The work, which has a choral setting, presents characters linked by the same culture, but divided by their life choices and overwhelmed by a tragic and inevitable destiny. Together with Mastro-don Gesualdo and La Duchessa di Leyra, the novel was part of the so-called Cycle of the vanquished, works that face up the theme of progress considered from the point of view of the "losers" of society.

The theatrical rewriting at Quirino places Nature at the centre of the dramaturgical action, through which the director articulates the show in the narrative passages of storms and deaths at sea: in fact, during a terrible storm, the load of the lupins is lost and Bastianazzo, son of Padron ‘Ntoni dies; his nephew Luca instead dies on a ship in the battle of Lissa; also during a storm, Padron 'Ntoni is injured and is then forced to sell the "Provvidenza" boat. This narrative structure also includes the vicissitudes of the young 'Ntoni, another grandson of Padron' Ntoni who, released from prison, realizes he can no longer be part of that life and leaves his native country forever.

Another key point of Verga's narrative emerges in the play, namely the so-called ideal of the oyster: just as oysters, if detached from the rock that allows them to survive, die, so do the characters, moving away from the usual model of life to improve your conditions, they end up succumbing, while only those who can adapt themseves to their situation can be saved.

The show, directed by Guglielmo Ferro, has as main interpreters Francesca Ferro, Rosario Minardi, Nadia De Luca, Rosario Marco Amato, Gianpaolo Romania, Elisa Franco, Pietro Barbaro.

Photo credits: Quirino Theater official site