Italy opens its borders through a script which explores the Italian immigrants’ life experiences in Scotland between 1850 and 1950.
The script is based on hundreds of interviews, collected over years by various academics and was commissioned by the University of Edinburgh to Laura Pasetti in 2013, as part of the Italian-Scottish Research Cluster project (ISRC).
The result of Laura’s work focuses on the women. The voices of not only the Italian women, but also the Scottish women, are strongly present in the story. Spanning a century of unprecedented and radical change, the diverse experiences the women of both cultures lived through on their separate and collective journeys, meet and intertwine.
“A Bench on the Road” mixes prose, poetry and folk songs belonging to both the Italian and Scottish traditions.
Charioteer Theatre, supported by Creative Scotland and the Italian Cultural Institute of Edinburgh, has put together a prestigious international team for developing the script and exploring its potentials in view of a full production of the play.
The development of ‘A Bench on the Road’ was presented as a work in progress, on Friday 20th February 2015, at Summerhall, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Playwright Laura Pasetti – Development Andrzej & Teresa Welminski
With Helen Cuinn, Vanda De Luca, Lorraine Hemmings, Sian Mannifield, Anna Panzone, Sita Pieraccini
Vocal Coach Natalie Toyne
Accordionist Lizy Stirrat
Supervisor Richard Demarco
Advisors Carlo Pirozzi – University of St. Andrews & Federica Pedriali – University of Edinburgh
Organization Sarah Cagossi, Nadia Fiorio, Sara Vailati
Info: charioteer.theatre@googlemail.com – 07765096709
