A Reading of ‘Seven’ at Teatro della Pergola

It’s hard to imagine what the world would be like without women, those females, sometimes irrational but forever caring and emotional, those ladies who have continuously worked day-in, day-out, just to make the world go round. In their honour, Italy will dedicate 16 days this autumn to a campaign, “16 Days of Activism to Stand up Against Male Violence,” taking place November 25 through December 10Linked to this campaign is a reading of Seven, a documentary play by seven award-winning playwrights, Carol K. Mack, Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith and Susan Yankowitz.

The show, which is centred on seven activists that originate from different countries, will re-tell their experiences of the ‘sexist’ world, for the first time during the show’s Italian debut.  Admission is free but a seat must be reserved by sending an email to lapietra.dialogues@nyu.edu.

The recital, directed by Jacob Olesen, will take place in Teatro della Pergola on Nov. 29 (6 pm), starring students from NYU Florence, Bianca Waechter, Ruolan Chen and Matilda Mahne in collaboration with La Stanza dell’Attore (cultural association dedicated to bringing theatre workshops to schools) and its members Giovanni Micoli, Marta Fantechi and Eleonora Gemmi.

NYU students and students from the Stanza dell’Attore will read parts in English and in Italian, and will be joined by American actor André Holland, who has been seen most recently in 2017 Best Picture Oscar-winner Moonlight, Selma, and numerous American television productions, and Cindy Dyer, Vice President for Human Rights at the Vital Voices Global Partnership.

According to Ellyn Toscani, Executive Director of NYU, “We are producing this play to respond to student concerns about the appalling incidents of sexual violence against members of our study abroad community. Those crimes, and revelations of sexual exploitation and rape in the entertainment industry and politics, have marked our semester.  We are encouraged by the revival of public attention to the culture of violence against women in the United States, Italy and throughout the world and hope to conclude our semester with a focus on leadership and a message of empowerment.”

Attend the performance at Teatro della Pergola and be moved by the dark and chilling stories lived and later narrated by the writers themselves. (karen gee)