Lenz Fondazione Opens Natura Dèi Teatri Festival with Calderón Adaptation

Lenz Fondazione, led by Maria Federica Maestri and Francesco Pititto, opened the 2018 Natura Dèi Teatri festival in Parma with a site-specific adaptation of Pedro Calderón de la Barca's 'The Great Theatre of the World.' The performance took place at the Teatro Farnese within the Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta, a 16th-century wooden theater designed by Giulio Camillo. The production featured twelve performers, including actors with disabilities (the 'attori sensibili'), and incorporated the monumental staircase, the Galleria Nazionale, and the Teatro Farnese itself. Key performers included Barbara Voghera, an actress with Down syndrome, who played the World. The festival runs until July 6 and initiates a three-year conceptual theme titled 'Toccare. Ispirazioni da Jean-Luc Nancy,' inspired by the French philosopher. The narrative follows the allegory of life as a play directed by God, where characters—the Peasant, the Poor, the King, the Rich, Beauty, Discretion, and the Child—are judged after their performance. The production involved four harpsichordists and a singer, with dramatic lighting and projections.