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ANNUNCIAtION

What if your choice to be a mother could change the course of human destiny? Annunciation is the story of two women - almost-mothers - and their free will.

written by Chiara Arrigoni | directed by Eri Çakalli | director's assistant Giulia Quercioli | with Chiara Arrigoni, Ottavia Orticello | photographic project Paolo Zunino | we started working in: 2019

TESTINSCENA AWARD 2019 | SPECIAL MENTION (SWITZERLAND)

HYSTRIO SCRITTURE DI SCENA AWARD 2019 | FINALIST (ITALY)

SCENA&POESIA NATIONAL PRIZE 2019 | II POSITION (ITALY)

FORVER YOUNG 2019 / LA CORTE OSPITALE | SEMIFINALIST (ITALY)

SCINTILLE 2020 AWARD | FINALIST (ITALY)

Two women face each other in Annunciation. Klara is pregnant and goes to a brothel to meet the Mistress of the house who, rumour has it, has performed several back-alley abortions. However, she wants to know why Klara is so obsessed with the idea of getting rid of the baby and eventually wrings the truth out of her: the baby is cursed. A prophecy says that he’ll grow up to be an evil dictator, a world war will break out because of him and millions of people will die: the lasts, the rejected, the Jews. So... is Klara going to be Hitler’s mother? Is she living in the History everybody knows? Or is this one a different story? The story of her following the prophecy and saving the world?

The project focuses on two women struggling with a hard decision. In order to make such a choice they have to test their faith: do they believe in the possibility of being chosen by God for something important? Or there’s no God’s will, it’s just you and the consequences of your actions? Motherhood turns out to be the crux of the matter for both of them: it’s an ancient power, a responsibility, or, maybe, a curse. Annunciation takes inspiration both from Greek myths and the Holy Scriptures: ranging from Oedipus to Virgin Mary, from Medea to Abraham, an archaic world which offers a cruel idea of sacrifice and prophecies.The setting is meant to be, at the same time, Past, Present and Future: it’s the Time of humankind, since the women’s choice must have an impact on us all, here and now.

« A highly remarkable and well-structured text that can suggest different interpretations and involves universal themes such as the relationship between individual and society, motherhood as an act of power, the relationship between individual and collective choice. » 

(Testinscena 2019' Jury motivation)

We are planning our debut in 2022; we've already put on stage some pieces of the text in three different occasions:

Testinscena 2019 Award 15 minutes on stage performance

Lugano Long Lake Festival 2019 25 minutes staged reading

Milano OFF Fringe Festival 2019 (Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan) 15 minutes on stage performance

Scintille Award (Milano and Asti) 20 minutes performance

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