CARLENTINI – On February 10, 2022 the “Turi Ferro” theater in Carlentini offers its theatrical spaces to one of the major works of the great Luigi Pirandello: Liolà. The adaptation and direction are by Francesco Bellomo, the sets and costumes by Carlo de Marino, the music by Mario d ‘Alessandro and Roberto Procaccini. The character of Liolà magnificently played by Giulio Corso. We also saw the extraordinary participation of Enrico Guarneri, surrounded by talented actresses such as: Caterina Milicchio, Alessandra Falci, Ilaria Conte, Rosanna Sapia, Federica Breci, Nadia Perciabosco in the role of aunt Ninfa and with the participation of Barbara Gallo in the role of aunt Croce . Liolà, is a Sicilian comedy, which takes up the story of the fourth chapter of “Fu Mattia Pascal”. The curtain opens on a scenography that takes us to Porto Empedocle, characterized by the white of the buildings that exactly resemble the Scala deiTurchi. In this setting, we meet the various characters: Liolà is an unscrupulous “Latin Lover” who, with his amorous behavior and his courtship, upsets the “comfort zone” in which the female figures of the Sicilian reality of the early 1940s move. Uncle Simone Palumbo who, with his wealth, thinks he can remedy his condition of being impotent. His pride as a virile man who wants to prove himself, but who in reality is not, pushes him to accept the betrayal of his wife who is expecting a child from the village Don Giovanni, Liolà. By making everyone believe that his wife is finally pregnant through him, Uncle Simone thinks he can find that balance and that satisfaction of being a “verumasculu” (real man ). Around the two male characters, female social climbers and profiteers revolve, such as Mita who agrees to marry her uncle Simone just to secure a solid economic position, or Tuzza who lowers herself to the role of uncle Simone’s lover to satisfy her thirst for revenge towards Liolà. It is very sad to see how young women are willing to plot games and intrigues aimed at the ruin of male characters, and worst of all … they themselves are strongly encouraged and supported by the larger female figures who represent the mind of all misdeeds. Therefore the girls, and even more serious the mothers or aunts of the girls, are willing to sell their image and their body in exchange for a social position. Once again Pirandello is the spokesperson for a social complaint, within which the ranks are moved by the need to guarantee a future that did not see the woman as the protagonist of the path of one’s life, but saw her on the margins of society, begging for a roof , food and clothing. She would have been willing to do anything to make the transition from the misery of her family of origin to that of her husband acquired through intrigues and betrayals, passing from the figure of the master father to that of the master husband. This time Pirandello’s gaze moves further and sees that, while behind the scenes the mature women are plotting, the men who on the stage of life seem guilty, such as Liolà who sows broken hearts, or Uncle Simone who flaunts a fictitious reality, paradoxically turn out to be positive male figures. The first one, bearer of cheerfulness, lightness, lightheartedness that is mistaken for superficiality, lives the joy of the moment, teaches a positive attitude towards life and in the end when he discovers the altars he reveals himself the victim of the female intrigues hidden behind the black veils that they cover the heads and the shame. The second one, object man himself, used as a cover for deliberately provoked misunderstandings and betrayals, turns out to be the main pawn manipulated by the hands of the “females”, for the duration of the whole play. In the end, Pirandello’s ingenuity brings back to the stage a surprise element compared to the ironic flavor of the comedy, which makes you laugh, makes you think, makes you imagine, but also makes you cry with Liolà’s death. Comedy becomes tragedy and it is hoped that the viewer will stop and reflect on the fact that intrigues, betrayals, subterfuges and lies are not worth using as tools to achieve personal goals and purposes, and that the only tool is always and only “the Truth”.
