I pretendenti

Italian Critics' Prize 2009 "Evenement" for Luca Ronconi's Lagarce project for Piccolo Teatro

A tragic farce in political salsa, through the action play of a group of cultural officials.

The play The Pretenders is constructed as a comedy. The characters who make up the commission of a cultural center in a provincial town meet to replace the old Director with a younger one.

It's an important day, because at last there's an opportunity to present new ideas. Also present at the meeting is an envoy from the Ministry of Culture.

But beneath the appearance of a convivial meeting lurks widespread discontent.

A caustic atmosphere full of humor, around the power grab between the old and new Directors. This is an analysis of a microcosm, where everyone plays out their destiny, in a flurry of behavior ranging from the comic to the grotesque.