Raffaele Esposito Directs Vercors' 'The Silence of the Sea' at Teatro Due

Raffaele Esposito directs and stars in a stage adaptation of Vercors' 1942 novel 'The Silence of the Sea' at Teatro Due in Parma. The production, a collaboration between Fondazione Teatro Due and Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, premiered in 2018. The story is set in a small French village during the German occupation of World War II. An elderly man and his young niece live in silent resistance against a cultured German officer billeted in their home. The officer, played by Esposito, tries to engage them in conversation, revealing his love for French literature and music, and his idealistic belief in peaceful cultural exchange. After a summons to Paris, he realizes the Nazis' true destructive plans and returns disillusioned, eventually leaving for the front. The niece, played by Roxana Doran, breaks her silence only to whisper 'Addio!' as he departs. Thierry Toscan portrays the mute grandfather. The production emphasizes tense silence and emotional restraint, using minimal set design with a suspended door, a sofa, mirror, and a teapot. The play is based on Vercors' novel, which was published clandestinely and used as propaganda by General de Gaulle, airdropped during the war.