LIBYA

from the book by Francesca Mannocchi and Gianluca Costantini (Mondadori)

As the artist-activist Gianluca Costantini has done by proposing to the war journalist Francesca Mannocchi to transform her reportages into a work of graphic journalism, so ErosAntEros turns the powerful images and words of Costantini-Mannocchi into a multidisciplinary performance which creates the chance to meet the eclectic musician Bruno Dorella.

There are three fundamental elements: voice, music and animated drawings.
The theme is the Libya of today, but a different Libya from the one shown on the news and on social media:

It is the Libya of the Libyans, the Libya of the lines outside the banks to get a currency that no longer has any value. The Libya of the young people who fought the Gaddafi regime and now regret it because at least, “when he was there”, they felt safe; and there was no lack of money, electricity, gasoline. The Libya of the mothers standing at the window waiting for children who will not return. The Libya of the elders who have lived through decades of dictatorship and are always looking over their shoulders. The Libya of ordinary people who suffer daily military blackmail, abuses, kidnappings, and live in constant fear.

For a decade, the Libyan issue has been dividing public opinion: on one side those in favour of armed intervention in 2011, on the other those against; on one side those who think that the flow of migrants to Italian coasts should be stopped by any means – including “legal” and illegal detention centres -, on the other those who believe that migrants imprisoned in Libya have the right to escape and to be saved. Black or white; full or empty; all or nothing. But as always, reality is more complex: we need to know it. This show, like the book from which it is inspired, wants to be one more step towards doing so.

concept and space Davide Sacco and Agata Tomšič / ErosAntEros
text Francesca Mannocchi
drawings Gianluca Costantini
with Younes El Bouzari and Agata Tomšič
music and live performance Bruno Dorella
dramaturgy Agata Tomšič
direction Davide Sacco
video animations Majid Bita and Michele Febbraio
Tewa’s voice Hanen Shushan

production ErosAntEros – POLIS Teatro Festival
in collaboration with ARCI
with the support of Elsinor Centro di Produzione Teatrale / Teatro Cantiere Florida and R.A.M.I. Residenza Artistica Multidisciplinare ILINXARIUM within the project CURA 2021 and of Centro di Residenza della Toscana (Armunia – CapoTrave/Kilowatt), Comune di Castiglion Fiorentino (AR)
with the support of Ministry of Culture, Region Emilia-Romagna and Municipality of Ravenna

winning project of the call for residencies of the project CURA

premiere October 18th 2022, Città delle 100 Scale Festival, Potenza

duration 80 min