Elogio funebre del manicomio elettrico
First showing in Belgium
Ascanio Celestini
Theatre / Italy

“ I gather the memory of those who have known psychatric institutes as geographers in the past would have done.  These scientists of the past asked the sailors, how were the islands made, they asked the spice and carpet tradesmen what did the Orient look like, where were they going, and the Africa they were crossing. With the stories that they heard, they tried to draw geographic maps. Even though they were often wrong they were rich of views and sights of those who had crossed these unknown places. This is how I have listened to the stories of those who have travelled through these institutes not to build an objective story but to reinstall the freshness and the precision of a subjective view. The beauty of the imagination and the reality of the fears that accompany them during the trip. “

Ascanio Celestini

“ …many hilarious characters but the most important is the poetry. Celetini is not a user of the “narration theatre”, he is something that is more simple and radical: a poet. We understand him by his interpretation which proceeds by delicate and exact images that can be identified in the personal experience of each spectator. The surprise provoked by these images is dense of emotions because they are never without meaning… It is with ourselves, with something which is within us that Celestini surprises us.” Luca Doninelli, Avvenire, 23^rd October 2005

 By and with Ascanio Celestini- Photography: Maila Iacovelli and Fabio Zayed, Spot the Difference- Teatro Stabile Dellumbria/ Fabbrica, Italia.

Duration 1h30
Show in Italian with French subtitles