The hotel of the poor

One of Maksim Gorkij's most important dramas is on stage at the Teatro Argentina directed by Massimo Popolizio, with the title The hotel of the poor. The play, renamed thus by Giorgio Strehler in 1947 - on the occasion of his direction which inaugurated the Piccolo Teatro in Milan that same year - is also known as The slums, or On the background, or even The dormitory.

Written by Maksim Gorky between 1901 and 1902 and performed for the first time in Moscow in 1902 with great public success, the opera tells about the life of a group of residents of a dormitory for the poor, a shabby refuge where characters are derelicts and alcoholics from the bottom of society: poor, thieves, prostitutes, humble workers. In the drama, while some of these characters hopelessly try to escape from this environment, others give up, spending their days trying not to succumb to the desperation and anguish of living. In this degraded context, personal relationships between residents are difficult, characterized by bitter and recurring arguments.

In Massimo Popolizio's show, the actors on stage manage to give us all the drama of the piece in a crescendo of tension made even more evident by the narrow space recreated on the stage, thus giving life to a representation full of pathos and social denunciation that leads to a reflection on human destiny.

By and with Massimo Popolizio; with Giovanni Battaglia, Gabriele Brunelli, Luca Carbone, Martin Chishimba, Giampiero Cicciò, Carolina Ellero, Raffaele Esposito, Diamara Ferrero, Francesco Giordano, Marco Mavaracchio, Michele Nani, Aldo Ottobrino, Silvia Pietta, Sandra Toffolatti, Zoe Zolferino.

Photo credits: courtesy of Mario Coppola