Commedia dell’Plague - an international Zoom show featuring artists from Italy, the UK, and Israel.
Come Celebrate the International Commedia dell’Arte Day 2021!

Thu. 25.2.21
21:00 [Israel time]
20:00 [Italy time]
19:00 [UK time]
“Commedia of the Plague”
An international project conceived and directed by
Haim Abud
Artistic director manager

Didi Hopkins
co-artistic director

Cristina Coltelli
co-artistic director

THE FACTS:
Haim Abud and his Scapino theatre group have been organizing and taking care of the celebrations of the international CDA day in Israel for 8 years now, with outstanding expertise and enthusiasm. Year after year the annual event taking place in Israel in partnership with Hasimta Theater and in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Tel Aviv and Haifa, and it became a happy, familiar rendez-vous for the Commedia dell'Arte community and its growing audience.
But then Covid stroke, the merry laughters turned to silence and everything seemed doomed to an end, at least for the current year.
So, celebrating the CDA day this year is not an easy task.
And not just for obvious technical reasons: theatres remain shut down all over the world and there's no clear sign of what the fate of live performance will be, but because after one year of dealing with the pandemic we have this uncomfortable feeling that we're kind of getting used and resigned to this never-ending “on line-life” that gives us the chance to communicate on one side, but forces us apart on the other.
Commedia dell'Arte is so connected with “feeling” and playing the live event for its audience, that we were almost convinced there was nothing to celebrate this time.
THE IDEA:
Then one night, at the top of depression, Haim was having a chat (on line of course), with Didi and Cristina, a glass of wine and a cigarette, just sobbing about the fact, there were no Covid we would have been already together rehearsing our new live production.
And then something clicked.
After all, even our comedians ancestors had to deal with more than a pandemic and one of Commedia's basic rule is: if there's a problem, just play the problem.
And all of a sudden we imagined the entire crew of Commedia's characters giving his/her secular opinion on the matter, each one from her/his shelter, but all connected by the urgency to get closer, to get together, to make something that human race has been doing for ages: telling stories that will become part of the collective memory, making us a little bit more humans.
Nice dream uh? But how to make it in practice?
48 hours later, Haim came with a green light from Hasimta Theater and the IIC of Tel Aviv, and with a practical plan how to make this dream real.
THE MAKING OF:
Since we must go on streaming anyway, we asked ourselves how do we preserve that feeling of community?
We decided that, non-matter what, we had to perform the pandemic topic and we had to perform LIVE.
From that point we had to contact the artists, amazing people who have devoted their entire life and profession to live performance, who accepted the quest of being part of this unusual, pioneering show. To them, to their generosity and professionality we are deeply grateful.
And we realized we have a lot to celebrate.
SO, WHAT ARE WE CELEBRATING THIS YEAR?
The fact that Commedia dell'Arte is such a huge tool that can always speak to your senses, especially in uncertain times.
The enthusiastic response we had both from the producers, the artists and the audience who's submitting to the event told us this was needed. Although we're all more fragile as isolated human beings, we will always tend to get together to sing our chants, listen to our stories, share our knowledge.
And we learnt that the only way to get rid of Death, it's to nourish Life.
So, please, have a seat and be our guests!
Didi, Cristina, Haim
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Program
AMIR LAVIE - The Ruler's Plague
Capitano - The Killing Game / Eugene Ionesco, adapted by Amir Lavie
ALESSIO SAPIENZA - Dead Man Talking
Pulcinella - Conceived by Alessio Sapienza
Capitano as a mayor speaks to his citizens about a mysterious plague and its effects.
A terrible invasion of fleas is spreading the plague all over. Pulcinella is terrified and will do whatever it takes to beat those fleas to the punch! Will he succeed to escape the ravenous epidemic?
CHIARA D'ANNA - Thrills & Spills
Arlecchino - Conceived by Chiara D'Anna
Arlecchino was sent to fetch some medicines. They are really powerful medicines to cure Pantalone's bad illness...a dangerous illness...a contagious illness!
CRISTINA COLTELLI - The last survivor
Andreina Andreini - Conceived by Cristina Coltelli
Andreina Andreini, last survivor of Andreini's family: the most famous Commedia company of the renaissance. She's in quarantine since the plague of 1630, trying to keep things going on, including the family business and her children (Faust and Margherita) education. She has two plague doctors as bodyguards to protect her from the virus and from a disturbing, repeated knocking on her door...
ENRICO BONAVERA - Get Busy
Brighella, Pantalone, Arlecchino - Conceived by Enrico Bonavera
The effects of the plague on those 3 who struggle to survive it.
GILI IVRI - The Lecture
II Dottore - Conceived by Gili Ivri
Dr. Atzati, a world renowned expert of plagues, diseases and other problems, in his lecture dedicated to "COVID-19- new discoveries and findings" based on his long term and broad research.
HOWARD GAYTON - In Lockdown
Punch & Judy - Conceived by Howard Gayton
The characters are Mr. Punch (the English puppet version of Polchinello); Judy - his long suffering wife; and Baby.
Mr. Punch is left to look after the Baby. The Baby has symptoms of a virus. What is Mr. Punch going to do!?
LEE WHITE - A Cure For A Cure
Dottore & Baggatino - Conceived by Lee White
No text. Dottore and Baggatino - Two brains. One brain cell. No clue.
LILACH TZUR - The Jeanivian Mutation
The First Lady - Conceived by Barak Gonen
Belin is in a farewell zoom call with her dying husband, Pantalone, who is quarantined in their home.
NANDO BRUSCO - Earthquake
Music - Nando Brusco Lyrics - Tradidional
Calabria is a beautiful, spectacular, yet restless land. Naturally isolated by the mountains on one side and by the sea on the other, its territory has been plagued by a huge number of earthquake swarms leading to destruction and further epidemics that have left a heavy mark not only along the territory, but inside people's souls.
On February 5th, 1783, an earthquake destroyed 109 towns and villages, with countless victims. This event is still alive in the collective memory of the people, thanks to a traditional chant (source: A. Garritano in Il canto popolare in Calabria, Rubettino 1984) naming and describing the places which were severly devastated and that lost, all of a sudden, “the best part of human beings”.
OLLY CRICK - The solution
Il Dottore - Conceived by Olly Crick
Il Dottore found the solution to the disturbing situation, and he must tell you about it.
ORIT PERES - Colombina vs the Lockdown
Colombina - The Killing Game / Eugene Ionesco adapted by Amir Lavie
Colombina can't stand it! She has to break the lockdown. Now!
SARAH RATHERAM - Punch's Pandemic
Pulcinella - Conceived by Sarah Ratheram
Pulcinella is in lockdown, busy stockpiling goods in his attic and defending them against anyone and everyone. His neighbours, meanwhile, are being generous and community-spirited - to Pulcinella there is no excuse for such behaviour. A global pandemic is for furthering one's self-interest, and one should behave as badly as possible.
FABIO MANGOLINI - Love Affair with Death
Capitano - Texts by Fabio Mangolini, Lorenzo Franciosini, Francesco Andreini
Song - Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi
Capitano describes how he made lady death fell in love with him.
BARAK GONEN - Your Host
Pantalone - Improvised by Barak Gonen
Artists
ENRICO BONAVERA
Italy
Enrico Bonavera is the Arlequin of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d’Europa.
A former apprentice of Ferruccio Soleri, he received training in Experimental theatre through collaboration with Teatro di Ricerca (E.Barba and J.Grotowski), and has for more than three decades maintained a successful acting career.
Between 1987 and 1990, and again from 2000 until present, Enrico Bonavera has performed Brighella and Arlecchino in Goldoni’s famous The Servant of Two Masters directed by Giorgio Strehler at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and he has tourned the entire world with the play,.
Since 1990 Enrico Bonavera has taught at the Scuola del Teatro Stabile di Genova. Since 2004 he has been Associate Professor at the Drama, Art and Music Departement of the University of Genoa.
As a coach he collaborates with the Accademia della Commedia dell’Arte of Piccolo Teatro di Milano directed by Ferruccio Soleri and the Shapkin Theatre School in Moscow, also with the at the HKPA in Hong Kong,
In 1996 Enrico Bonavera received the award for the best actor in supporting role best at Borgio Verezzi festival for his Arlecchino in C.Goldoni "I due gemelli veneziani" (Venetian Twins).
In 2007 he was honoured with the ‘ Golden Arlequin” award in Mantua, which had previously been bestowed on actors such Marcel Marceau, Dario Fo, Ferruccio Soleri.
NANDO BRUSCO
Italy
Nando Brusco began his training in the field of folk music, poetry and traditional dances, and soon realized that he is deeply tied to their rhythms and to the instrument that generates them in the popular music of Mediterranean Italy: the frame drum.
He begins in the early 2000s an intense journey that will lead him to be one of the most recognizable and vibrant voices of traditional and contemporary folk music. He meets and studies with the greatest masters such as Massimo Laguardia, Alfio Antico, Paolo Cimmino, Davide Conte, Andrea Piccioni, Leon Pantarei, Luca de Simone and others, and with them he aknowledges and masters the numerous traditional techniques of Southern Italy.
Graduated in anthropology with a thesis on traditional dances in Calabria, he begins a historical-anthropological research that will also characterize his original compositions, leading to many collaborations in the field of folk music and performing in the major ethnic music festivals in the country.
Nando also intensified his collaborations with theater and physical theater in particular. Since 2015 he has been cworking with the Proskenion Theater as a trainer in artistic residences.
In recent years, he has put his acquired knowledge to good use, proposing a workshop / meeting "The Inner Drum" completely dedicated to the relationship between bodywork and rythm, a valid tool not just to musicians but to actors and dancers as well.