by Ginevra Barbetti
The actor brings Zorro, a text by his wife Margaret Mazzantini, to the Puccini Theater in Florence
This is the second time Sergio Castellito brings a text by his wife Margaret Mazzantini to the stage. After Manola, a visionary novel that narrates the contrasting archetypes of femininity, Zorro 2004, a recluse on the pavement, a vagabond by the circumstances of life, arrives on the stage of the Puccini Theater tomorrow (9 p.m.) and Sunday (4.45 p.m.) in Florence ) “It’s the story of a ‘normal’ man, as society would define him,” explains the show’s actor and director: “who suddenly loses everything that belongs to him, including emotional and material possessions, due to life circumstances. With him, however, remains the dignity that is the most precious ».
The street as the litmus paper of the world: in a way, a privileged observation point.
“Paradoxical, but true. His gaze is disillusioned, his reading has nothing to lose, nor the resulting judgment. It takes courage to live, in some cases even more so when you have to ask for help and side with the least. Dignity is an intrinsic fact, a deep and personal feeling that civil society certainly does not guarantee you, even when strictly following its rules. It is “the starry sky above me and the moral law within me” as Kant wrote and as the great philosophers understand it.
In Zoro’s solitude there is great freedom.
«Freedom that is not granted to me, a so-called “normal” and certainly privileged man. Then there is the preciousness of time, of a frameless space. At one point in the text he says: «For me, life is a day from sunrise to sunset», every day an existence, a life that flows between the sun and the moon. Beyond the poetic metaphor there is undoubtedly a shadow of loneliness, pain, defeat, but the text, sometimes almost clownish in its genius, always manages to free him from the sadness».
It also says that love is in silence, in thought.
«In this space where the form follows the waves of the sea, takes on waves, gains strength. We are all seemingly free, but in reality we are looking outside while remaining locked in a cage of relationships, relationships, duties.”
Zoro is always free to say what he thinks.
“And that’s a lot, if not all. In the classic theater tradition, the fool, the clown, tells the truth. Only those who can afford it say so. We “cormorants,” as he calls us, are constantly forced to hide, hide, code it. His “Observatory” is disillusioned and blends naturally into the story. It is an almost cheerful text, light in its drama».
Are there similarities between the artist’s profession, his search for meaning and that of our hermit?
“I respond with a concept that Margaret often repeats to me: we actors are clochards who made it. We are wanderers, it is true that there is a wandering in our being. Every day when we go on stage we write a new blank page in front of new audiences, a different humanity and energy».
The actual scenography of this show is the words.
«And the images that these words create. That’s exactly why I didn’t want to build an overly complex scene. There are symbolic objects: a table, a bench, a chandelier. Through these characters, the public has the freedom to compose their own imaginary story. The theater is a place where you reach in and take out what you need».
This year’s is a rehash of the show you directed twenty years ago: what has changed about its construction?
“The topic of loneliness remains strong, the fear of suddenly losing everything. And I’m not just referring to material goods, but to emotional closeness and the security that comes with it. Zorro is alone but strengthens the bond with himself, the true heritage that each of us should keep. I would say that everything on the show stayed the way it was. Unfortunately, I fear that things have taken a turn for the worse at the door of the theater ».
Have you always wanted to switch off from everyday life?
“I have a job that allows me to always hide behind the lives of others. It’s a work of fantasy and imagination that other jobs don’t involve. That’s why I’m privileged, but I’ve also often felt the irrepressible desire to free myself from my duties».
He has played many roles, eminent personalities that have said Italy.
“Joy consists in offering stories, in witnessing them, in telling them to those who were there and to those who have yet to hear them. The response to the fiction about Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa was very positive, also from the new generations. It’s a good sign, it means there is a desire to know, a need to know. Such successes are worth twice as much to me.”
Let’s stay with the new generations, with his children: Pietro had a good success with his first works, between direction and screenplay. Maria comes out with her first novel. Then Anna, Caesar. In short, versatility is the result of a beautiful fabric.
“We have given them great freedom and it seems to me that they are playing this card consciously, responsibly and creatively. Their path is very different from ours, for obvious generational and experiential reasons. We are lucky, especially not to have children repeating what we have done or are doing, we. We are united by a deep love, and often it is me who learns».
What was the last thing he learned?
“Certain ways of approaching life.”
And how was she at thirty?
“Anxious, neurotic, constantly worried and alarmed. Luckily things went well after that and I forgot about this uphill mood, but I’ll keep building.”
Is it true that after Mary was born you had to rush to the hospital disguised as a priest?
«I was shooting Don Milani and I was wearing a tunic with pants. When they called me and told me that my wife was about to give birth, I went as I was, disguised as a priest. When I got there, I screamed, “I’m the father!” Luckily, they let me in.”
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January 13, 2023
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