As they reach the end of their term for the Biennale Teatro, Stefano Ricci and Gianni Forte present “Niger et Albus,” the eternal dance between black and white, featuring “a line-up of extraordinary poetic-visionary artists.”
The shadows of Black and the brilliance of White will invite us to lose ourselves, find ourselves back, enjoy the embrace of darkness, and emerge into light again, allowing for a deeper connection with our nature.
Playwrights and directors Stefano Ricci and Gianni Forte, or ricci/forte as they present themselves since 2005, are leaving their position as Art Director of the Venice Theatre Biennale after a four-year tenure, which took us into worlds and territories that we had never thought theatre belonged. Niger et Albus (Latin for ‘black & white’) is the title of the 52nd Theatre Biennale, promising to be “an adventure with no equals, and for the audience, a space for desire, marvel, and debate.”
We are looking at the final year of your tenure. You took us on a journey of colourful and poetic visions, starting with your 2021 production – Blue – and following with your 2022 Rot/Rosso, a therapy theatre production that guided a confused patient to reappropriate their own story, and with Emerald, a veritable injection of hope. What will we find in Niger et Albus?
Black and White – not two colours, but a symbol of ancestral duality. The 52nd Theatre Biennale will be all about this binary, and will invite the audience to assess their inner reality. Far from glaring hues that do nothing but dazzle and overwhelm us, the Black and the White will be the mirrors of our essence, guiding us into a more authentic self-awareness. In this scenario, narrations will take the form of poetic vision, where the essential questions on existence will be answered with unique sensitivity. Who are we? Why are we alive? Where do we come from, and where is humankind going? These questions will echo throughout the performances, shows, installations, in our Master Classes and mise-en-lecture, each a step into a dreamlike escape, an antidote to the hectic, oppressing present. We will see stories of life, love, relationships, separation, demise, all weaving into a consistent plot. Theatre can be an amazing journey of discovery and reconciliation with the truths we hold most intimately. The shadows of Black and the brilliance of White will invite us to lose ourselves, find ourselves back, enjoy the embrace of darkness, and emerge into light again, allowing for a deeper connection with our nature.
We didn’t just pick different artists, but we strived to look for souls that vibrate in tune with modernity, that dare explore the unexplored
Over the years, you invited to Venice authors that we might have never met outside the Biennale Circuit. What is your secret formula?
As Art Directors, our approach is similar to that of a utopian, fantasist landscaper who sows with care and patiently waits for beautiful plants to blossom. We listen to the voices of the world, capture the signals of change, and try to translate them into a programme that shall have no boundaries, one that welcomes diversity and celebrates innovation. Our ‘secret formula’ is nothing but an alchemy of intuition and passion, a network that grows on daring vision, empathy, research of beauty and truth, and insatiable curiosity for Humankind. Our upcoming Biennale will be a living mosaic of fragments of stories, looks, feelings that intersect into a tapestry of unique, hopefully unrepeatable experiences. We didn’t just pick different artists, but we strived to look for souls that vibrate in tune with modernity, that dare explore the unexplored, that challenged the conventions of theatre. Directors, playwrights, performers – like Back to Back Theatre and Gob Squad, have been picked for their undeniable talent, yes, but also for their ability to bring a new, different, even disturbing light, and to open portals onto unexpected universes. They can create new symbiotic connections with their audience and reveal hidden truths with their art.
Your excellent scouting also shows in the Biennale College programme, which will allow us to discover the up-and-coming talents in the world of theatre. How did you develop the programme over your tenure, and how do you feel about the work you did?
Sometimes, one feels incomplete, though he’s really just young, once said author Italo Calvino. Bewilderment, paired with creative energy, is something we should treasure. Personally, I think the Biennale College is the highest challenge and the most precious work of our mandate: to build something that catalyses, supports, and accompanies drama, performance, and theatre in general should be the first imperative of a civilized country. We know this is far from the truth and the Biennale is one of the few toeholds against the prevalent disinterest towards youth affairs. To confront the new, instead of preserving dust, should be paramount.
Your next projects will be carried out individually. Where are we going to see you next?
SR_The answer lies in that very word – individually – therein are the prodromes of regeneration into wished-for elsewhere…
GF_After the Venice Theatre Biennale, other paths will take us in different directions, all enriched by our shared experience. I will work on both theatre and literature as a solo player onto a path that promises beautiful discoveries, like the world of translation. There are long-forgotten francophone authors that need to be rediscovered, and will help investigate the dynamics of the human soul, question reality, turning each work of art into an inner and outer inquiry. So, as the curtains drop on one chapter, we are looking forward to a further, stimulating stage, where each can follow their path with that commitment and excitement that they had over the twenty-plus years of working together.
