From Greece to Stratford, and Back. Teatro dell’Elfo: Half a Century with Shakespeare and the Classics

Adaptations from classical texts have constantly intertwined with Shakespeare’s plays, for the past fifty years, in the history of an Italian theatre company: since 1973 the group of Teatro dell’Elfo (Milan) has always combined a rigorous and coherent scenic practice, a preliminary study of the original texts, a free attitude in adapting and directing ancient and modern plays. The members of the company share a collective approach to theatre, and they work together to this day, alongside their personal projects. This study focuses on Ferdinando Bruni (as a playwright, director, actor, translator, performer and painter, costume and set designer) and on Ida Marinelli, who has shared the stage with him since 1973. The paper explores a few productions among those based on classical and Shakespeare plays, with special attention to the different roles and functions which Bruni takes on simultaneously: in particular, as a director – or co-director, with other members of the company (Gabriele Salvatores, Elio de Capitani and Francesco Frongia) – of many productions where he and Marinelli share the stage with fellow actors (Corinna Agustoni, Cristina Crippa, Elena Russo Arman, Luca Toracca). Rather than aiming to identify causal links between the classical and Shakespearean adaptations, this essay focuses on the unifying aesthestic and theoretical premises of the theatre collective that have allowed it to breathe new life into its adaptations, by discussing the different phases of its activity.