Teatro Patologico
In September 2019, the Market Theatre in Johannesburg presents a unique production of great classical tragedy Medea. The show sees on stage people with disabilities from Italian theatre company Teatro Patologico from Rome, accompanied by professional actors, thanks to the collaboration between the Italian Cultural Institute in Pretoria and The Market Theatre Foundation. This peculiar production is focused on the deep connection between use of the body, language and music: the body becomes the principle means of communication, whereas language and use of original music revolve around their corporeal and spiritual link with the performer’s bodies.
The shows will be held at the Mannie Manim at The Market Theatre on Friday 27 September and Saturday 28 September at 20:15
In addition to the staging of Medea, the group of Teatro Patologico will hold a workshop at Little Eden, an association dedicated to physically and mentally disabled people. The Italian actors will work together with a selected group of guests from the South African facility to jointly realize an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. For the staging, a plot outline is elaborated and, once the parts have been assigned, the participants are asked to “let the characters talk“, thus giving life to a script composed of original pieces mixed with others born from improvisation. The show resulting from this workshop will be performed, also at the Mannie Manim Sunday 29 September at 15:15.
In the artistic and theatrical statement of Teatro Patologico, led by the Artistic Director Dario D’Ambrosi, theatre is considered not just a form of therapy, but also an opportunity for artistic and emotional expression, a place for aggregation and stimulating training in which to play and have serious fun, where disabled actors can feel like, and finally be, the real protagonists of their scene; on the other hand, disabilities are seen as a way to expand the possibilities for theatrical and artistic expression.
“Patologico” (from Ancient Greek “Pathos”, meaning both “Passion” and “Illness”) marks for the Italian company the original roots of dramatic arts: the emotions, timing and rhythms of actors are very similar to those of people with mental illness; their work is the demonstration that to interpret characters and make them live their own lives, what matters is the living emotion and its transposition to the audience.
To make block bookings, please contact Anthony Ezeoke 011 832 1641ext 203/083 246 4950, Magret Charova 011 832 1641 ext 326/ 079 656 2340 and Jabulisile Mofolo 011 832 1641 ext 204/ 083 203 0531.
Teatro Patologico
The Teatro Patologico (or, in English, “Pathological Theatre”) Association was founded in 1992 by Dario D’Ambrosi. Since then the Association deals with the unique and encompassing job of bringing together theatre and the research on mental disease, where the performers are people with serious psychic disabilities.
From 2009, Teatro Patologico has had its stable venue and rehearsal spaces in Rome. Within this new space, La Magia Del Teatro (“The Magic of Theatre”) was born. This is the first European Theatre School for people with disabilities, which officially started its didactic activities in 2010.
This school represents a dream coming true: allowing the encounter of theatre and mental disease through a path that, while enriching both sides, can find a way to produce new and artistically valid theatre as well as help thousands of families who deal with intellectual disability. Dario D’Ambrosi juxtaposes to the many school activities a theatrical season, which proposes events where the social element is the focus. In recent years, the Association promoted and participated in many festivals and exhibitions and produced several shows in Italy and abroad (New York, London, Tokyo and Brussels just to name a few).
Teatro Patologico in collaboration with the University of Studies of Rome Tor Vergata and the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research – MIUR, opened in 2016 the first University Course of “Integrated Theatre of the Emotion”, dedicated to people with physical and intellectual disabilities. An environment unique in its genre, this course is intended for people with special needs whose right to study is not fully recognized. The objective is integration. The lessons are designed to offer growth and artistic exchange. The experience is meant to be personal and social for all participants, with a curriculum that includes multiple subjects, from music to dance, from creative writing to acting, from painting to set design, etc.
The shows of Teatro Patologico investigate folly, the true madness of the diseased, with the intent of giving back, in D’Ambrosi’s own words, “dignity to the fool”.
Dario D’Ambrosi
Born in Milan in 1958, Dario D’Ambrosi is one of the major Italian avant-garde artists and the creator of the theatrical movement Teatro Patologico. He is an actor, a director and the author of shows that represent the thoughts and the behaviours of people with mental illness. He has been, for over thirty years, one of the most representative figures on the Italian theatre scene. He showed an intense passion for theatre and mental disorders since an early age, so much so that he stayed for three months at the psychiatric hospital Paolo Pini of Milan in voluntary commitment, in order to closely observe the patients’ behaviour.
After producing his first few shows, only 19, D’Ambrosi moves to New York City. Here he meets Ellen Stewart, founder of La MaMa Café; after becoming a life member, he continues to produce shows and in 1989 directs the festival L’Altra Italia (“The Other Italy”).
Over the years Dario D’Ambrosi has written, directed and performed in many shows in major Italian cities, New York and then Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Detroit and, in Europe, in Barcelona, Amsterdam, Monaco. For years, D’Ambrosi has also worked as an actor for cinema and television, in Italy and abroad.
In 2016, in collaboration with the University of Studies of Rome Tor Vergata, D’Ambrosi founds the first University Course of Integrated Theatre of the Emotion, dedicated entirely to students with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Among the many awards bestowed on Dario D’Ambrosi and his Teatro Patologico, worth to mention are the Gold Medal by the President of the Republic of Italy, Wilton’s Music Hall – “Best Show 2013” for the show “Medea”, Organic Price of Chicago – for the “The Trout” show, and the Kennedy Foundation Award received by Kerry Kennedy in 2017.
