Emblematic work of Daniele Finzi Pasca, this show was conceived for one single spectator and celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2021. Only one privileged member of the audience, randomly chosen by Daniele, is completely involved in the play, while the others become “voyeurs”.
Since its creation in 1991, Daniele Finzi Pasca has performed this show more than 800 times, in several languages around the world.
“I prepare my shows like stories that must be told while looking the audience in the eye. In Icaro, I wanted to talk about hope by bringing to life anti-heroes, which is how most of us see ourselves.
I engage in theatre for the pleasure of drowning myself, of losing myself just a little, which is one of the most worthwhile things in this life. We lose ourselves and escape. When we escape inside ourselves, who we really are is revealed to us. Escape is a strategy that allows us to delve deeper into reality to discover the secrets that are masked by appearances, and to invent new utopias.
I come from a mountainous land. Where I am from, we escape by taking risks. Mountains will await you throughout your entire life. They define the vertical horizon of the child’s imagination before becoming engraved in memory. Where I am from, there are people who climb their mountain every year so as to renew their ties with that which does not change. Governments change, children are born, we lose our oldest friends, but mountains remain forever, unchanged. The wonderful thing about an encounter outside of time is that on every such occasion, we discover that we are different, transformed. A performance for an actor is sometimes one of the places where he can escape within himself. He will continue to tell these stories, and each time he does, he will find that he has changed. Icaro is one of the mountains I have been climbing for the past twenty years.
Through theatre, I strive to rain in the eyes of others; a moist massage for the soul. I will tell you my story in English, but I will continue to think in Italian, my first language. This evening, I hope to succeed in making the rain fall in your eyes.”
Daniele Finzi Pasca
Icaro from and performed by Daniele Finzi Pasca
music: Maria Bonzanigo
lights: Marco Finzi Pasca
production: Compagnia Finzi Pasca
Duration: 90 minutes, no intermission
Set up: 12 hours
4 persons max. on tour
All age
International Booking
booking@finzipasca.com
With the support of:
Cornècard
Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola
Caffè Chicco d’Oro, Fidinam
Helsinn – Partner internazionale
City of Lugano
Cantone Ticino
Pro Helvetia
AIL SA
The founders and producers of Compagnia Finzi Pasca:
Antonio Vergamini, Daniele Finzi Pasca, Hugo Gargiulo, Julie Hamelin Finzi and Maria Bonzanigo.