Tosca and the Two Downstairs


Tosca and the Two Downstairs
by Franca Valeri
directed by Laura Caparrotti
with
Laura Caparrotti
Marta Mondelli
from Kairos Italy Theater and Dicapo Opera
presented in Italian with English supertitles



Spoiler alert!
Tosca and the Two Downstairs is an enormously creative piece from the Kairos Italy Theater, written by Franca Valeri. This two-character drama is set during the action of Tosca; it’s a spoken piece, not sung, the action of which takes place while the second act of the opera is going on offstage.

After an amusing little opening scene, we meet Emilia at the Palazzo Farnese, where she is porter. The play’s exposition consists of her describing the people around her (who are the characters from the opera) to her offstage husband. The two are in the service of Scarpia (the villain of the opera), to whom Emilia is devoted.

Iride enters, wife to Sciarrone (he’s straight from the opera as well). Scarpia is chief of police and Sciarrone, also an unsavory character, is his official torturer.

Iride's very friendly, disarmingly and suspiciously talkative. She needs to gain Emilia’s friendship. Emilia dislikes Iride, and we watch as step by step she softens toward her. Emilia backtracks from time to time, notably when Iride derides Scarpia, but her attitude softens by degrees.

In the second act of Tosca, Tosca’s lover is being tortured there at the palazzo, and from time to time during this play we hear his offstage screams. It’s important, as it gives the play a sort of contextual depth, but it’s rather off-putting.

Finally Iride reveals the purpose of her visit. She asks Emilia for a disguise so that she can run away and escape her husband. Emilia complies, although she’s still not entirely partial to this woman. It’s a complex psychology. Another playwright might have her totally seduced by Iride, but Valeri knows that emotions aren’t simple.

Laura Caparrotti has directed with surety; every beat is clear. The two actresses, Signorina Marta Mondelli and Signorina Caparrotti herself, are splendid. Their respective acting is a smooth flow of emotion.
Lucretia Moroni’s set is as simple as could be – a table and chairs. The backdrop is gorgeous, like a peach skin flattened out. It’s too beautiful, in fact, for the servants’ quarters of a “palace” where men are tortured.

Valeri has given us a very intriguing play about the drama in the lives of the smaller people, the people whose lives aren’t melodrama or, like Tosca’s, histrionic. That is, the people downstairs.

As compelling as the Tosca and the Two Downstairs usually is, and as fascinating as premise, there are passages when we’re bored. The exposition is necessary but not engaging, and Iride’s gaining Emilia’s confidence takes rather too long. But we’re very pleased to find this piece. We’ll be at the next production from Kairos Italy Theater.

March, 2014

Popular posts from this blog

Anouilh's Antigone

There is a moment in Fusion Theatre’s production of Jean Anouilh’s Antigone (at Theatre Row’s Studio Theatre) when Creon says to Antigone “Don’t annihilate me with those eyes.” And indeed, Antigone’s unrelenting stare does seem to be annihilating him, as it’s been annihilating everyone. As Antigone, Eilin O’Dea motivates Creon’s line so well that it seems Anouilh has written it in response to the actress. Anouilh’s play, as this production makes clear, is an important drama. Anouilh reworked Sophocles’ play keeping the ancient Greek names and keeping the action in Thebes. The characters, however, mention tobacco, blood tests, film and cars. The dissonance reminds us that Anouilh’s message of courage and moral responsibility is ageless. Anouilh has created a raisonneur in a character called simply The Chorus. Tragedy, he tells us, “has nothing to do with melodrama”. “In tragedy, argument is gratuitous,” he says, but this is a very strange line; Antigone and Creon will soo
Read more

C.S. Lewis on Stage: The Most Reluctant Convert

C.S. Lewis lived between 1898 and 1963. He’s best known for his works of fiction such as The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia , although his non-fiction work is arguably more important. He ranks among the foremost 20 th -century Christian apologists and theologians. Max McLean has written a terrific solo show in which he presents Lewis in his study at Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1950, C.S. Lewis on Stage: The Most Reluctant Convert . Mr. MacLean is the show’s actor, and he’s co-directed it with Ken Denison. The script details Lewis’ conversion from atheism to Christianity, delineating the transformation in discrete steps. Lewis begins with his childhood in Belfast: “Mother’s death produced in me a deeply engrained pessimism,” he tells us. And “At 13 I ceased to be a Christian. At that age one scarcely notices.” He was confirmed in The Church of Ireland “in total disbelief.” The script presents us with the structure of Lewis’ life – his time at Oxford, his enli
Read more

A Blanket of Dust

Image
Photo by Sharon Kinsella In Richard Squires’ play A Blanket of Dust, presented at The Flea Theater by Delphi Film in association with Alfonso Ramos and Eve Pomerance, a woman, Diane, looses her husband in the 9-11 disaster. She’s convinced that the government is responsible for the catastrophe, and campaigns to uncover the conspiracy. She’s a Senator’s daughter, so the issue becomes a family affair. Years later, she becomes involved with Andrew, a book store owner active in the dissident movement. Andrew is also at odds with his parents on political issues (his father is in government but it’s not clear what his position is.) In frustration, Andrew commits suicide - he sets fire to himself - in protest. This is all pretty grim, but, well, it’s a grim world, and it’s good to see issue- committed theater.   Mr. Squires’ keeps his script as lean as the WTC towers. The characters have no identity aside from their attitudes toward the issue, aside from the sketchy romance. Ther
Read more