The Shit/La Merda

(Paperback)

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You have to laugh. It is a tragedy in three movements: The Thighs, The Dick, The Fame and a counter-movement: Italy. An actress creates a physical and vocal mask challenging a provocative, scandalous and beastly text. Words might be sung, howled and shrieked but a chant never emerges. In her naked physicality she tells a personal story in an unbroken flow of thoughts/words rendered as sounds and movement. The deafening screams being choked. Appeased. Imploded. This female onstage offers herself up in a feast, ready to be torn apart by anyone. A poetic piece born of the flesh that returns to the flesh, captured in a tightly-sealed aesthetic. Applause required. The Shit is driven by a desperate attempt to pull ourselves out of the mud, the latest products of the cultural genocide aptly described by Pasolini since the modern consumer society began taking form. A totalitarianism, according to Pasolini, even more repressive than the one of the Fascist era, because it's capable of crushing us softly. Si deve ridere. E' una tragedia in tre tempi: Le Cosce, Il Cazzo, La Fama e un controtempo: LItalia. Nella sua nudit e intimit pubblica, l'attrice costruisce una maschera fisica/vocale sfidando un testo scandaloso, provocatorio e rabbioso. La scrittura cantabile, ma il canto non emerge mai, ed invece preponderante la chiave dellinvettiva, del grido, del corpo che sussulta la sua storia personale in un flusso di pensieri/parole raccontati come suoni. Strazianti. Urla assordanti e contratte. Sopite. Implose. La femmina si offre dal vivo come in un banchetto, pronta a venire sbranata da tutti. Una partitura poetica che nasce cos dalla carne e alla carne ritorna, pur dentro a una rigidissima confezione estetica. Applausi obbligatori. La Merda ha come spinta propulsiva il disperato tentativo di districarsi da un pantano o fango, ultimi prodotti di quel genocidio culturale di cui scrisse e parl Pier Paolo Pasolini allaffacciarsi della societ dei consumi. Quel totalitarismo, secondo Pasolini, ancor pi duro di quello fascista poich capace di annientarci con dolcezza. Since its world premiere in Milan in 2012, #LaMerda, written by Cristian Ceresoli and embodied by Silvia Gallerano, has brought its poetic and shocking stream of consciousness on the human condition around the world with sell-out seasons in Edinburgh, London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Adelaide and across Italy (where a subtle censorship is still applied), winning six major international awards including the coveted Scotsman Fringe First Award for Writing Excellence and The Stage Award for Best Performance. The play has already been translated and produced in Italian, English, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Spanish and Czech, and will shortly be translated into German and French.

Reviews

'A startling satire on body image, fame and politics. A piece so literally and metaphorically naked, raw and angry that you leave the theatre feeling as if you've had all your skin scraped off.' Lyn Gardner, Guardian; 'Extraordinary, uncompromising and entirely unforgettable.' Sam Marlowe, The Times; 'Devastating stream of consciousness. One of the most wonderfully full-on performances ever seen.' Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman; 'Raw, touching, intelligent and mesmerising, Cristian Ceresoli's The Shit is an unforgettable piece of theatre that reveals our universal inner thoughts, fears, desires and memory with almost frightening accuracy. Brash, brutal, beastly, yet beautiful, The Shit is a near-perfect recreation of humanity, and indeed, society at its most powerful, most desperate, most vulnerable and most cutting.' The List; 'Utterly compelling verbal symphony. Somewhat perversely, the compelling honesty of what follows is simply irresistible.' The Herald; 'You'll leave feeling Italy's anger in your bones.' The Stage; 'The rage is nude.' Vogue; 'This is skin in the tradition of Artaud and it is powerful, political and poetic.' Examiner

Author Bio

Cristian Ceresoli was born in Gaza in 1975. He lives and works wherever he can: Edinburgh, Turin, London, Naples, Milan, Lenola or New York. After working as a waiter, librarian, farmhand, performer, factory worker, and street stall hawker, he began writing in 2005.