Teatro delle Ariette Brings Convivial Performance to Rome's Quarticciolo

From September 10 to 13, 2020, the Teatro delle Ariette company was in residence at the Quarticciolo, a working-class district built during Fascist-era Rome, for the special project 'Quarticciolo. La vita attorno a un tavolo.' The residency culminated in an open-air performance titled 'Teatro Naturale? Io, il couscous e Albert Camus,' staged in one of the neighborhood's courtyards. The rectangular stage was flanked by two rows of spectators seated at café tables with wine and couscous; a real kitchen was installed on one short side, where couscous was cooked and served to the audience as the story ended. The performance blended the company's autobiographical tale of a love story in France over couscous with Albert Camus's 'The Stranger' and collective memories of Italy's Years of Lead, Spain's Civil War and Franco dictatorship, and Algeria's colonial past and war for independence. The event extended beyond the performance as residents invited the Ariette members to their homes, sharing personal stories. The Quarticciolo's architecture—quadrangular blocks with loggias, arches, and vaults—created natural communal spaces that facilitated collective listening and conviviality. The residency demonstrated how artistic interventions can penetrate urban and social plans, generating energy from diverse participants including children, elderly, and adults from the neighborhood and beyond.