Harlequin - Servant of Two Masters

“Before Homer Simpson, there was commedia dell’arte.” The New York Times

This is New Zealand’s first opportunity to experience the work of Italy’s revered Piccolo Teatro di Milano. Established in 1947, they have travelled the globe keeping alive the renaissance art form, commedia dell’arte. In Italy the company is a symbol of a theatre tradition that is both very Italian and part of the world’s theatrical heritage.

“A miraculous fusion of brilliant directorial insight, inspired physical comedy and a peerless sense of style.” Los Angeles Times

Piccolo Teatro di Milano will perform Harlequin Servant of Two Masters, written in 1745 by the legendary Carlo Goldoni. The role of Harlequin is played by the great Italian actor Ferruccio Soleri who has performed the role with a playful agility for the past 45 years. The plot is simple and hilarious: Harlequin is a wily trickster with a never-ending desire to fill both his pockets and his stomach and hence he becomes the servant of two masters.

What follows is a series of madcap scenes including three weddings, two duels, a dance number, a chase sequence, a love scene, a food fight, and much more. Throughout all the mix-ups, mayhem and slapstick humour, Harlequin discovers he himself is really hungry for love and, like all good stories everyone in the end lives happily ever after.

Commedia dell’arte characters were known as zannis (the forebears of modern-day clowns). Harlequin is one of the best known of these characters – comedic, mischievous and recognisable by his colourful diamond-shaped patchwork costume. The play is performed in the original Italian language and yet the stories are easily communicated to all audiences through the company’s skilful use of body language and acrobatics. As the centuries have unfolded, the commedia dell’arte style has evolved as the inspiration behind the great comic characters from Shakespeare’s Puck to Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers, through to John Cleese and Homer Simpson.

Please note for this performance the role of Harlequin will be performed by Ferruccio Soleri except for Sat 3 October, 1.00pm when it will be performed by Enrico Bonavera.

Thursday 1 to Friday 2 October - 7.00pm
Saturday 3 October - 1.00pm and 7.00pm
Sunday 4 October - 3.00pm

Event listed by Elephant Publicity

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