Since 2010 ErosAntEros has been developing an aesthetic-political theatre that manipulates different sources and expressive languages, with the aim of linking theatre to life and making imagination a tool to transform reality. In 2022 Agata Tomšič and Davide Sacco develop a new project, which focuses on one of the central themes of their latest international and multilingual production CONFINI: the environmental catastrophe, pollution and exploitation of planet Earth by man, and the future survival of life forms on it.
At the first Chaos came to be, but next
wide-bosomed Gaia, the ever-sure foundations of all the deathless ones…
Hesiod, Theogony
GAIA, the primordial goddess of inexhaustible creator power, the divine force of the Earth and the origin of life itself, is the protagonist of this new journey. Mother of Sky and Sea, of Night and Day, she is the protagonist of a sharp lament, which continues the vocal-musical research of ErosAntEros, while at the same time entering into relation with a refined video device, that urges the audience not to remain indifferent to the past, the present and the future of our one and only common home: Gaia, the Earth.
According to a 1979 theory by James Lovelock that revolutionized ecology and environmental studies, the Earth is Gaia, a single living organism capable of self-regulating and responding to all those new and adverse factors that upset its natural balance. Living matter does not remain passive in the face of what threatens its existence: the oceans, the atmosphere, the Earth’s crust and all other geophysical components of the planet are maintained in conditions suitable for the existence of life precisely because of the behavior and action of living organisms, plants and animals. To this theory this new work is dedicated.
An evolving, participatory and site-specific performative-dramaturgical-visual device, that enters in relation to the places where it is hosted by bringing on stage non-professionals, activists and young actors from the area; and also adapting the ephemeral set design of fog and video projections to the spaces it encounters. To experiment with new good practices that reduce the environmental impact of the production and circulation of the performances.
The term “apocalypse” comes from the Greek, meaning “to remove the veil”. The flood that brought Emilia-Romagna to its knees during the last weeks of rehearsals of the production “unveiled” loud and clear Gaia’s desperate cry. It is up to us to decide whether to re-act or continue to ignore it until the next emergency. Our performance is also about this rebellion.
Each of us must act.
This is our last chance to do something.
Our last chance to save the world as we know it.
We do not have a backup planet.
This is not a drill.
concept Davide Sacco and Agata Tomšič / ErosAntEros
dramaturgy Agata Tomšič
direction and music design Davide Sacco
with Agata Tomšič
with the climate activists Fulvio Arniani, Adriana Aviles, Patrizia Bassani, Roberto Bustacchini, Annalisa Conte, Miriam Fabietti, Cristina Ferro, Cecilia Lombardi, Giuseppina Maestri, Chiara Ossani, Vitaliana Pantini, Alessandra Pepoli, Romina Piazza, Amanda Quach, Erika Anastasia Santoro, Marco Sassatelli, Franca Tassinari
and the special participation of Gaia Montanari, Margherita Tedde, Sara Trabalza
video Francesco Tedde
costumes Arianna Fantin
tailoring Manja Beneke, Marta Benini
light Marco Rabiti
rehearsal’s assistants Andrea Cavina, Claudia Giliberto
organization Veronica Arietto
communication Francesca Mambelli
production Ravenna Festival, ErosAntEros – POLIS Teatro Festival
in residency at La Chartreuse de Villeneuve lez Avignon – Centre national des écritures du spectacle,
Masque Teatro, Ravenna Teatro
with the support of Ministero della Cultura, Regione Emilia-Romagna and Comune di Ravenna
winning project of EFFEA – European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists 2023, co-funded by the European Union
duration 60′
ErosAntEros was born from the union of Davide Sacco, stage director, and Agata Tomšič, actress and dramaturg, in January 2010. Their artistic research brings forward an engaged theater that does not give up the aesthetic value of form, in a strong relation whit the history, the present and the places in which is created, with the aim to connect theater to life and make the imagination a weapon to transform reality.
Over the years they have been produced and supported by important theatrical institutions, such as ERT-Emilia Romagna Teatro / Teatro Nazionale, TNL-Théâtre National du Luxembourg, Ravenna Festival, Campania Teatro Festival, Teatro della Toscana, TPE-Teatro Piemonte Europa, Teatro della Tosse.
They have been involved in important international projects at: the Festival d’Avignon (in 2022 with European Theatre Convention; in 2018 with ProHelvetia and MiBACT); the candidacy of Piran2025 as European Capital of Culture (artistic consultants 2019-2020); the F.I.N.D. plus festival of the Schaubühne in Berlin (in 2015, with ERT – Emilia Romagna Teatro and Prospero Project); the Grotowski Institute of Wroclaw and the Odin Teatret / Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium of Holstebro (between 2014 and 2017).
Since 2018 they are directing POLIS Teatro Festival in Ravenna, programming artists of international importance and implementing participatory projects that involve citizens.