Roberto Castello's 'In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni' at Teatro Camploy

Roberto Castello's dance piece 'In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni' (2017) at Teatro Camploy in Verona presents a bleak vision of humanity trapped in modern absurdities. Four dancers—Alice Giuliani, Mariano Nieddu, Giselda Ranieri, and Ilenia Romano—portray survivors of the human tribe, moving in grey pixelated light projected as square frames that invert Mondrian from white to black. The palindromic title offers no escape. Choreographed by Castello of the Aldes company, the work uses sharp cuts rather than dissolves, evoking Kantor's dramas and Saramago's 'Blindness'. An external voice dictates the start and end of each movement. The dancers enact mundane rituals—coffee at a bar, nightclub scenes, traffic jams, career assembly lines—denuded without cruelty but also without pity. Castello's empathetic gaze transforms the stage into a claustrophobic light box, with silhouettes reminiscent of Goya's 'Disasters of War'. The piece has been touring for at least two years, its prophetic quality resonating with contemporary exhaustion.