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AUDITION

A Black Mirror and Eyes Wide Shut atmosphere into a text inspired by news items which won several prizes in Italy and Europe.

written by Chiara Arrigoni | directed by Daniele Santisi | with Matteo Carabelli, Andrea Ferrara, Chiara Arrigoni | year of production first version: 2017 | new production: 2022 | running time: 70 mins. | 16+

"GIOVANI REALTÀ DEL TEATRO" NATIONAL PRIZE 2016 | ARTISTIC JURY AWARD (ITALY)
NATIONAL PRIZE OF ARTS 2017 | BEST PLAYWRITING (ITALY)
DOMINIO PUBBLICO FESTIVAL 2017 | TEATRO INDIA OF ROME (ITALY)
MILANO OFF FIL FESTIVAL 2017 | SELECTED FOR AVIGNON LE OFF 2018 (ITALY)
SWINDON FRINGE FESTIVAL 2018 | BEST DRAMA PERFORMANCE (UK)
NAPLES TRENTATRAM FESTIVAL 2018 | BEST SHOW AND BEST ACTOR (ITALY)

IN-BOX 2019 PRIZE | SEMIFINALISTS

AREZZO CROWD FESTIVAL 2019 | FARRAGO AWARD

In a bleak basement, a job interviewer named Mr T. is challenging two candidates – Sarah and Miguel – in order to choose the best one for a mysterious job. The only thing we know is that the reward is huge: 100.000 euros for just one night. Only the most motivated (or the most desperate?) will be hired as long as he/she will persuade the job interviewer to be ready to go beyond any feeling of personal guilt. Gradually, a horrifying requirement is unveiled: the two candidates must be HIV-affected.  The public is caught up in an on-going conversation that at first looks like a normal job interview, but that in time reveals just how terrible is the task the two candidates must be willing to carry out. Mr T. seems to take pleasure in exploring Miguel and Sarah’s motivations that force them to be there, one against the other, alone in front of a terrible question: how much is my dignity worth?

It's inspired by a real story recently happened in the UK: an atrocious game played by an élite of bored rich people who joke around their own life. Even though the news passed by unnoticed, Chiara Arrigoni decided to turn it into a play. The idea is to tell the story of two young people forced to subject themselves to an unfair and cruel selection process. It’s a long lasting abuse of power, and it’s about the whole job market we’re experiencing today, which compels who wants to be part of it to follow cruel dynamics and to be willing to do the “dirty work”, silencing their own conscience. You feel under pressure because you want to be chosen, you strongly need to be chosen, and this forces you to do your worst, to become the worst you can be, and to bend yourself to the cruel law homo omini lupus, mors tua vita mea. You have to prevail on the others to survive, pretending you had no choice. But there is always the possibility to make a choice that makes you human, even in a dehumanizing context. 

« The piece collects tension and plot twists, with precision, rhythm and dramatic awareness - without excluding the natural aspect of some humour circumstances. A thick text about cutthroat ambition and the destructive power of wealth - It is easy to link it to some recent news items. » 

(Scene Contemporanee)

« It is a play about desperation. There’s no place for fear - It is not the strongest one to win but rather the meanest one. It could be the person who has lost all humanity when in reality it’s humanity itself that has betrayed them. Your enemy could be in others or in yourself, in the masks of silence, in other people’s experiences.»   » 

(Recensito.net)

short version debut during Contaminazioni Festival 2016, at Teatro Orologio, Rome (September 2016)

full version debut during Dominio Pubblico Festival 2017, at Teatro India, Rome (June 2017)

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