Commedia for Elders

This is Commedia del’Arte as it has never been seen before. A group of 60yrs+ residents of the Church Street Ward and adjacent areas (Marylebone, NW8) have been playfully exploring these old Italian timeless characters: the miser, the lovers, the coward, the greedy… and brought them back to life for a unique performance. The group has been working for 12 weeks with Dende Collective’s Artistic Director Andr? Pink and Commedia specialist Didi Hopkins (contributor to the National Theatre’s hit One man, Two Guvnors) using masks, movement and improvisation presenting their own satirical stories. *Warning: expect out-loud laughter and to be moved. Commedia dell’Arte was an Italian theatre form from the XVI century that lasted for approximately 250 years. It was initially improvised on the streets in Italy and then travelled to the whole of Europe. It made usage of masks and immortalised characters such as Arlecchino, Columbina and Pantalone. It influenced the theatre of its time and beyond, making fun of social types and issues of that period. The shows will be partly improvised and reflect issues that concern the participants, portraying characters inspired by the original types of Commedia dell’Arte that relate to their world and Church Street Ward.