From the 17th to the 22d of January 2023, the Pergola Theatre invites the public to the show The Fool’s Cap directed by Sebastiano Lo Monaco, with a text by Luigi Pirandello, scenes by Keiko Shiraishi, costume by Cristina Da Rolincud, music by Mario Dine, lights by Nevio Cavina and the participation of Gianna Giacchetti. On stage are Sebastiano Lo Monaco in the role of Ciampa, Maria Rosaria Carli in the role of Beatrice Fiorica, Clelia Piscitello for the Saracen, Gianna Giacchetti for Assunta La Bella, Lina Bernardi for Fana, Rosario Perix for Delegate Spanò, Claudio Mazzenga for Fifì La Bella and Maria Laura Caselli for Nina, Ciampa’s wife. The show is produced by Sicilia Teatro in collaboration with the Festival La Versiliana di Pietrasanta and the Teatro Luigi Pirandello of Agrigento.

The Fool’s Cap is a comedy centred on the notion of hypocrisy, which Pirandello tells with a playful tone and great elegance. The themes explored are relevant to several contemporary issues, fixed in the idea that the surface, that is the image, is what matters and defines, and that therefore it is enough to hide behind an appearance to find success. The beautiful Beatrice Fiorica wants to make a scandal because of the betrayal of her husband, which is dangerous for the reputation of a man, inciting the event of a series of events that keep the audience attentive and interested in the many problems experienced by the characters.

Pirandello’s personality continues to leave an impact on the history of Italian literature, on the Italian people, its beauty and its paradoxes, which define the identity of the country in times of crisis and progress. The Fool’s Cap, written in 1916, tells this in typical Pirandello style: the encounter between hysterical madness and the desire to build a society, the creation of a fantasy and fictional world that makes you think and dream.

As director Sebastiano Lo Monaco says, “The character of Ciampa, apparently grotesque, is actually heart-breaking, but above all he is the most modern of the Pirandello heroes. The “Cap” is the story of a young man, just over forty years old, who, betrayed by his wife, accepts the condemnation and the penalty of sharing the love of his woman with another man, not to lose her. A dramatic and current theme whether you want it or not! By tradition, taking on this character was faced by actors at the end of their career, however ahead of the years. This distorted the dramatic force of Ciampa, so heroic and full of humanity, a silent and astute humanity that gives him the strength to defend his marital unhappiness, against the ridiculous society of that time. A character in short, seemingly small but infinitely large”.