Goodbye Papà (Ελληνικά)

Written by
Francesco Baj & Βασιλική Γάτσιου

Directed by
Flavio Marigliani

Con
Flavio Marigliani (and the voices of Dyanne White and Tim Adams)

Produced by
Teatro Multilingue

When & Where?
Teatrosophia, Roma
Rose Theatre Studio, Kingston upon Thames Alma Theatre, Bristol, UK – 8 December 2022 The Hope Theatre, London, UK – 11 & 12 December 2022

Languages
English, italiano, Ελληνικά

Music
Mozart’s Piano Sonatas

Set Photos
Violetta Canitano

Special thanks
Greek Embassy at Rome & the Hellenic Community of Rome and Lazio for their kind help and support

Un monologo in inglese, italiano e greco moderno… can I follow the story? Yes, you can! Lasciati sorprendere!

Μια παράξενη οικογενειακή ιστορία, η χίμαιρα μιας αναζήτησης μέσα από τη γλώσσα και τη μουσική.

ITA – English Father muore improvvisamente in Egitto, lasciando “metà di sé” a suo figlio in Italia e l’altra metà a sua figlia in Grecia, entrambi abbandonati all’età di 6 anni in momenti diversi della sua vita. La notizia della morte raggiunge Figlio in Italia, e ora si deve preparare per il funerale.

Una storia di famiglia decisamente bizzarra: un’occasione per Figlio di fare il punto della situazione su tutto ciò che questo ha significato per lui. Ed è anche l’occasione per creare un “dialogo”, una sorta di iniziazione a due, con la αδελφή (sorella) greca che lui non ha mai conosciuto ma che è sicuro abbia vissuto le sue stesse esperienze. Figlio sa che lei esiste e decide di imparare la sua lingua in modo da poterle parlare.

L’apprendimento del greco diventerà per Figlio, fra altre cose, una via di fuga reale e immaginaria nella sua – o nella loro? – infanzia, nei ricordi, il padre che li ha abbandonati, la reazione delle rispettive madri e lo strano rapporto con la lingua inglese, ereditata da English Father ma messa in discussione o rifiutata in diversi momenti della loro vita, specialmente a scuola.

Tra risate e situazioni più commoventi, Goodbye Papà esplora temi quali l’identità, i ricordi condivisi e, last but not least, la lingua e il rapporto che abbiamo con essa, lo strumento ideale per creare connessioni che vanno oltre la realtà. Il fatto che questa lingua sia la “tua”, quella che hai “ereditato” dal padre scomparso, o una “straniera” che stai imparando non ha nessuna importanza, perché la connessione va oltre. Il messaggio finale di Figlio al padre, in musica, è un ultimo tentativo di afferrare qualcosa che sembra irrimediabilmente perso.

“What impressed us was the magical way, the invisible thread that connected different languages in a common meaning and that you don’t have to think about what language the actor is speaking to you. It really unites the world and its diversity. Highly recommended.”

VASILIKI ARGENTI – Η Εκτη τεχνη drama school (Athens)

“This was AMAZING! So much skill and the story was so clear, heart wrenching and beautiful across all languages. Just wonderful.”

TWICKENHAM YOUTH THEATRE (london)

“When English blends into Italian and then softens into the more exotic soundscape of Greek, one understands that they’re all waves, sound aggregates that come and are gone, mixing in a variety of combinations, revealing the diverse facets of the human soul..”

PANEACQUACULTURE MAGAZINE (MILANO)

“Daring new concept having a show in Greek, Italian and English. Thanks to the excellent Flavio Marigliani as the Italian brother reaching out to his Greek half-sibling the story flowed. I met the writer and true to his words you did not have to understand all the languages to enjoy this play.”

member of the audience – london, uk

ENG – English Father dies all of a sudden in Egypt leaving “half of himself” to his son in Italy and the other half to his daughter in Greece, both of whom he had abandoned at age 6 in different moments of his life. The news of his death reaches Italian Figlio (Son) in Italy and now he has to get ready for the funeral.

This rather odd family story is the perfect chance for Figlio to take stock of what all of this has meant to him. It is also the chance to create a “dialogue”, a sort of dual initiation, with the Greek αδελφή (Sister) he has never met but who, he is sure, has lived through exactly the same things he has. Figlio knows she exists and decides to learn her language so that he can “talk” to her.

Learning Greek will become, among other things, Figlio’s real and imaginative escape into his – or their? – childhood, memories, the father who abandoned them, the reactions of their mothers and the strange relation created with the English language, inherited from English Father but questioned or rejected at different points in their lives, particularly in school.

Both funny and heart-rending, Goodbye Papà is about identity, shared memories and our relation to language, as the code or symbol through which connections beyond reality can be created. The fact that this language may be your “native”, the one you’ve “inherited” from your estranged father, or a “foreign” language you are learning, is meaningless, because the connection goes beyond all this. Figlio’s eulogy, in music, is the ultimate attempt to connect with something irremediably lost.

ΕΛ – Ο English father πεθαίνει ξαφνικά στην Αίγυπτο, αφήνοντας το μισό κορμί του στον γιό του από την Ιταλία και το αλλο μισό στην κόρη του από την Ελλάδα, και τους δύο εγκαταλειμμένους στην ηλικία των έξι χρόνων σε διαφορετικές στιγμές της ζωής τους. Τα νέα του θανάτου βρίσκουν τον γιό στην Ιταλία και τώρα πρέπει να προετοιμαστεί για την κηδεία. 

Μια οικογενειακή ιστορία οπωσδήποτε παράξενη: μια ευκαιρία για τον γιό να ξεκαθαρίσει μέσα του ό, τι έχει περισσότερη σημασία για αυτόν. Και είναι η ευκαιρία να δημιουργήσει έναν «διάλογο», ένα είδος διπλής μύησης, με την Ελληνίδα sorella (αδερφή) που ποτέ δεν έχει γνωρίσει, αλλά που είναι σίγουρος πως κι εκείνη έχει ζήσει τις ίδιες καταστάσεις. Ο γιός ξέρει ότι εκείνη υπάρχει και αποφασίζει να μάθει τη γλώσσα της ώστε να μπορέσει να μιλήσει μαζί της.

Η σπουδή των Ελληνικών θα αποτελέσει για τον γιό, μεταξύ άλλων, μια φυγή, ένα ταξίδι, άλλοτε αληθινό άλλοτε φανταστικό, στη δική του – ή στη δική τους; – παιδική ηλικία, στις μνήμες^. ο πατέρας που τους εγκατέλειψε, η αντίδραση της κάθε μητέρας και η παράξενη σχέση με την αγγλική γλώσσα, κληρονομία του Άγγλου πατέρα, να υιοθετείται ή να απορρίπτεται κατά περίσταση κυρίως στα σχολικά χρόνια.

Ανάμεσα στο γέλιο και τη συγκίνηση, το Goodbye Papà εξερευνά θέματα ταυτότητας, μοιρασμένες μνήμες και last but not least τη γλώσσα και τη σχέση που έχουμε με αυτή μέσω της επικοινωνιακής ισχύος της. Αυτό το τελευταίο μήνυμα του γιού προς τον πατέρα μέσα από τη μουσική είναι μια προσπάθεια να διασώσει κάτι που μοιάζει αμετάκλητα χαμένο.