Search

The theatrical experience of ‘non-school’ began in the early ‘90’s, in Ravenna, as part of Teatro delle Albe’s work, a company created in 1983 by Marco Martinelli, Ermanna Montanari, Luigi Dadina and Marcella Nonni. From the early years of the new millennium ‘non-school’ started up in various cities, both in Italy and abroad, and took the name of ‘Arrevuoto’ (Revolt) in Naples, ‘Capusutta’ (Upside down) in Lamezia Terme and ‘Eresia della Felicità a Venezia’ (The Heresy of Happiness in Venice) in the city of that name. The ‘bringing to life of the classics’, the work in chorus and the constant attention to otherness and differences contribute to non-school’s style, but form only a part of the complexity of this theatrical work which changes according to which location a performance will take place in and which texts are chosen. The present article looks into some artistic and political aspects of ‘non-school’ and follows its work which connected four Italian cities over the years 2005-2012: Ravenna, Naples, Lamezia Terme and Venice.

The article examines the relationship between cultural performances (ritual fighting and its theatrical representation), social dynamics and international cooperation. It is the fruit of research work that was carried out last year in Senegal and Italy. The analysis that was realised concerns three subject fields: the connections between myth and ritual fighting in Senegal, from the emic perspective; the transformations of the ritual that have taken place over the last decades and the different ways in which it is practiced in urban and rural contexts, and its relations with political power and the media; the theatrical representation of the rite in the work of the “Takku Ligey Théâtre” company, in the ambit of the N.A.T. programme of international cooperation (Network for African Talents). The N.A.T. programme took place from 2012 to 2014 with the aim of supporting cooperation between Europe and Africa, through the performing arts (music, theatre and dance), and involved associations and institutions from four countries (Italy, Senegal, Mozambique and Cameroon).

“Takku Ligey” is a phrase in Wolof, one of the languages spoken in Senegal, whose origin lies in the gesture made by farmers before starting work, when they tighten the belt to their waist, so that clothes cling to their bodies, and movements are agile, meaning “working together”. Amongst performances staged by theater company Takku LigeyThéâtre are Leebu Nawet ak Noor, The Play of Richness and Poverty, adapted from Aristophanes’ play Pluto, and Sundiata, based on the myth of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Empire of Mali in XIII century a. C. In both performances conflicts between individuals and between the social groups represented emerges explicitly, evoking the very same conflicts which characterise some rites of Senegal ethnic groups Wolof and Serere, and recalling the close connection between “social drama” and “cultural performance” studied by Victor Turner