I Don't Want the Moon

I Don’t Want the Moon | Travelling theatre production
 
Thursday 25 June – Ponte alla Piera, Anghiari (AR)
 
A reflection with local communities
 
Produced by CasermArcheologica; in collaboration with Noidellescarpediverse aps and rumorBianc(O)
by Samuele Boncompagni
with Samuele Boncompagni and Chiara Renzi
 
There is a legend about a special mountain where, on nights of the full moon, you can hear the gallop of two horses and catch a glimpse of the shadows of two young lovers. Theirs is an impossible, thwarted love. Some have seen them embracing, others with their hands stretched towards the sky, in an attempt to touch the moon. It is said that, if they managed to reach it, all their wishes would come true and their love could finally be fulfilled.
 
That mountain really does exist: it is the Alpe della Luna, in the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines. It is from this place that the project ‘La Repubblica delle foreste, custodi dell’Alpe della Luna’ (The Republic of the Forests, Guardians of the Alpe della Luna) originates, which CasermArcheologica, together with the municipalities of Badia Tedalda and Pieve Santo Stefano, is developing with the PNRR. Over the years of work, a broader reflection has emerged on the communities inhabiting these small villages; today, these areas are viewed in contrasting ways: on the one hand, as fragile places, marked by depopulation and a reduction in services; on the other, as spaces of possibility, where one can imagine new, more sustainable and community-oriented ways of living
 
The show stems from a desire to strike up a conversation with those who actually live in these villages
 
We take theatre to the streets, the alleyways, the crossroads — to the places where people meet and talk — to share stories that are similar yet unique, differing in every village, hamlet or town across Italy.
 
Let’s start with that legend: two young people want to live out their love in a rural area.
Who are they? Were they born there and have chosen to stay? Or have they returned, or arrived from elsewhere, in search of a different life?
 
And then:

• what kind of future is possible in these places?
• Are there schools, doctors, services?
• How does the community welcome those who arrive or those who stay?
• With suspicion, solidarity, warmth?

 
“Non voglio mica la luna” seeks to renew theatre as a civic and communal ritual.
It explores simple yet urgent questions: Can small villages become places where new ways of life can be built? What conditions – material and in terms of cooperation – can be created for a future in these places?
 
The show is a travelling, participatory and entertaining theatrical experience. A small company welcomes the audience onto the streets; the villages themselves become the stage for something about to happen. The “Giants of the City” are coming; the audience is invited to join in the theatrical game and reflect on issues such as inland areas, depopulation, tourism and the meaning of living today.
 
Will the Giants really arrive? Perhaps they will. Perhaps they’re already here
Between reflection and irony, between reality and imagination, one thing remains certain: we are made of dreams too
And perhaps, in that way, a little closer to touching the moon
 

 

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