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GAIA

Since 2010 ErosAntEros has been developing an aesthetic-political theatre that manipulates different sources and expressive languages, with the aim of linking theatre to life and making imagination a tool to transform reality. In 2022 Agata Tomšič and Davide Sacco develop a new project, which focuses on one of the central themes of their latest international and multilingual production CONFINI: the environmental catastrophe, pollution and exploitation of planet Earth by man, and the future survival of life forms on it.

At the first Chaos came to be, but next
wide-bosomed Gaia, the ever-sure foundations of all the deathless ones…

Hesiod, Theogony

GAIA, the primordial goddess of inexhaustible creator power, the divine force of the Earth and the origin of life itself, is the protagonist of this new journey. Mother of Sky and Sea, of Night and Day, she is the protagonist of a sharp lament, which continues the vocal-musical research of ErosAntEros, while at the same time entering into relation with a refined video device, that urges the audience not to remain indifferent to the past, the present and the future of our one and only common home: Gaia, the Earth.

According to a 1979 theory by James Lovelock that revolutionized ecology and environmental studies, the Earth is Gaia, a single living organism capable of self-regulating and responding to all those new and adverse factors that upset its natural balance. Living matter does not remain passive in the face of what threatens its existence: the oceans, the atmosphere, the Earth’s crust and all other geophysical components of the planet are maintained in conditions suitable for the existence of life precisely because of the behavior and action of living organisms, plants and animals. To this theory this new work is dedicated.

An evolving, participatory and site-specific performative-dramaturgical-visual device, that enters in relation to the places where it is hosted by bringing on stage non-professionals, activists and young actors from the area; and also adapting the ephemeral set design of fog and video projections to the spaces it meets. To experiment with new good practices that reduce the environmental impact of the production and circulation of the performances.

The term “apocalypse” comes from the Greek, meaning “to remove the veil”. The flood that brought Emilia-Romagna to its knees during the last weeks of rehearsals of the production “unveiled” loud and clear Gaia’s desperate cry. It is up to us to decide whether to re-act or continue to ignore it until the next emergency. Our performance is also about this rebellion.
Each of us must act.
This is our last chance to do something.
Our last chance to save the world as we know it.
We do not have a backup planet.
This is not a drill.

concept Davide Sacco and Agata Tomšič / ErosAntEros
dramaturgy Agata Tomšič
direction and music design Davide Sacco
with Agata Tomšič and with citizens and climate activists of the area
video Francesco Tedde
costumes Arianna Fantin
tailoring Manja Beneke, Marta Benini
light Marco Rabiti
organization Veronica Arietto
communication
Francesca Mambelli

production Ravenna Festival, ErosAntEros – POLIS Teatro Festival
in residency at La Chartreuse de Villeneuve lez Avignon – Centre national des écritures du spectacle,
Masque Teatro, Ravenna Teatro
with the support of Ministero della Cultura, Regione Emilia-Romagna and Comune di Ravenna

winning project of EFFEA – European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists 2023, co-funded by the European Union


debut June 10-11 2023, Teatro Dante Alighieri, Ravenna Festival, POLIS Teatro Festival

performance in Italian, English and local languages, with surtitles


BROWSE HERE THE PRESENTATION OF THE PERFORMANCE