Italian Theatre Festival: Hanno Tutti Ragione

(This is a past event and is no longer running)

By:
Paolo Sorrentino

With:
Iaia Forte

An episode of Paolo Sorrentino’s novel Hanno Tutti Ragione is adapted for the stage.

‘Larger than life’ Neapolitan singer Tony Pagoda is in his dressing room in New York, about to give the most important concert of his career, performing for Frank Sinatra at Radio City Music Hall.

Fuelled by alcohol and cocaine, Pagoda’s musical performance takes the audience on his own powerful journey through memories, glimmers of enlightenment, love and anguish, all set to a beautiful musical score.

After the extraordinary international success of The Great Beauty, award-winning Italian actress Iaia Forte works with Sorrentino once again, this time in the role of a man.

“The idea of adapting the character of Tony for the stage was born out of love. I gave two staged readings of the novel and enjoyed embodying this character and enacting the beautiful words of the book so much that I wanted to convert it into a play. This singer, a cocaine addict, desperate and vital, is a character so beyond gender stereotypes that they can easily be performed by a woman. I like to think that Pagoda’s bragging sneer hides a feminine soul, a naivety, and a desire for a lost harmony. But then again, the theatre is a place where, luckily, we can ban naturalism and expand the boundaries of our fantasy.”

Written by:
Paolo Sorrentino

Directed by:
Iaia Forte

With:
Iaia Forte

Production:
Pierfrancesco Pisani and OffRome