Virgilio Sieni and Mimmo Cuticchio's 'Nudità' Revives Sicilian Puppet Tradition

The performance 'Nudità', a collaboration between dancer/choreographer Virgilio Sieni (Florence, 1957) and puppeteer Mimmo Cuticchio (Gela, 1948), explores the dialogue between the human body and the stripped-down puppet skeleton. It was staged at Teatro Rasi in Ravenna on May 14, 2022, and runs at Piccolo Teatro Grassi in Milan until May 18, 2022, as part of the Festival Internazionale Presente Indicativo: per Giorgio Strehler. The collaboration began in late 2016 under the title 'Palermo. Arte del Gesto nel Mediterraneo', focusing on the relationship between performer and marionette, inspired by Gordon Craig and Kleist. Cuticchio, who opened Palermo's last puppet theater at age 25, founded a school for puppeteers in 1997. Sieni emphasizes 'risonanza' (resonance) as a principle of listening and democratic bodily experience. The work addresses the preservation of the UNESCO-inscribed Opera dei Pupi tradition through contemporary practice. An interview conducted at the 2018 Romaeuropa Festival was revisited for this article by Chiara Pirri Valentini.