Busto, the town of theatre, a festival to bring culture back to the centre

First, there is the Busto Arsizio Film Festival (which starts on 30 March and ends on 6 April) and immediately after, the Festival of Theatre, or rather the theatres. Today, Busto Arsizio can count on something like 8 theatres, and we are not talking about empty and abandoned buildings, but active organisations that involve thousands of people, from audiences, to volunteers, actors, both beginners and professionals, and technicians.

From 11 to 14 April, the festival space in Piazza San Giovanni will transform into the shared home of the town’s theatres, where the best of their theatre production will be put on to satisfy all tastes. The theatres participating are the Teatro Sociale Delia Cajelli, the Teatro Manzoni, the Fratello Sole, the Lux, the Spazio Teatro-Palkettostage, the Teatro Parrocchiale Aurora, in Borsano, the Teatro Sant’Anna and the San Giovanni Bosco. They are performing not only as individual theatres, but also in collaboration with each other.

This morning, the event was presented in Villa Tovaglieri, in the presence of the Councillor for Culture Manuela Maffioli and representatives of the theatres. “The Festival of Theatre begins immediately after the Film Festival: film will leave the tensile structure in Piazza San Giovanni, and theatre will move in,” the Councillor for Culture said today. “The festival also represents the coexistence of cinema and theatre, which is experienced every day in our halls, in our ‘places’ of culture, which we want to keep alive, because they represent a defence against decline.”

Culture generates beauty, but to create it, we need a strong desire to network, and in Busto, the theatre roundtable, sought by Councillor Maffioli, is beginning to bear fruit.

“We’re doing it, thanks to the network, to the collaboration between the theatres and cinemas, which, even with this extraordinary initiative, has demonstrated its effectiveness. For the first time, there are all of the theatres, none of them are first- or second-rate, there is only culture. The festival is a great tribute to the theatre genre, our theatres are fine, they have loyal audiences, who follow them, but we would like the audiences to grow and expand the age groups involved, because going to the theatre, makes you feel good, beauty makes you feel good, as evidenced by a number of scientific studies.”

If anyone turns up their nose at the numerous paid events, the Councillor has only one answer. “The cultural quality of the programme is high because it involves professionals. Culture has to be supported if it is to be good quality, so it’s only right to pay to attend the events.”

This is an unprecedented initiative, also because of the very varied programme, which will take place, in part, in the festival space, in part, in the various theatres and cinemas: on the posters, performances of prose, musicals, street theatre, workshops, presentations of projects and shows, and, of course, there will some films, “Old Man & The Gun”, the latest starring Robert Redford, which is being shown at the Fratello Sole, on Thursday, 11 April, and “L’estate di Gino”, with the participation of Don Gino Rigoldi, by the director Fabio Martina and Don David Riboldi, the chaplain of the prison in Busto Arsizio, which is being shown on Saturday, 13 April, at the Cinema Teatro Lux, where, at 4.30 p.m., on Sunday, April 14, the children’s film “C’era una volta il principe azzurro” (“Once upon a time, there was Prince Charming”), is being shown.

There are numerous proposals for children, as well as puppet shows, animated readings and other ad hoc performances, after the success of the Night in the library, a few months ago, we mention the ‘Night at the theatre‘, at the Sociale, on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April, for children aged 6 years and above (info: prenotazionesociale@libero.it). The group, Viandanti Teatranti, from the San Giovanni Bosco, will involve those present in a theatre lesson, and the Spazio Teatro di Cetty Fava are organising an aperitif, following the tradition of the Palkettostage.

THE PROGRAMME

Thursday 11 April 2019

10.30am – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

Inauguration of Giornate Pirandelliane by the Teatro Sociale

From 4 – 7 p.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

Presentation of the musical “Pinocchio”, by the Manzoni Theatre

From 7 to 7.30 p.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

Presentation of the show “L’amico ritrovato” (“The Friend Rediscovered”), and of the chamber theatre project “Il piacere letterario” (“The Literary Pleasure”), by the Teatro Sociale

At 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. – Fratello Sole Theatre

A tribute to Robert Redford, acting teacher, the movie “Old Man & The Gun”, the evening is introduced by Paolo Castelli – price €5.

Friday 12 April 2019

5 p.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

“Il viaggio di Stormy il Clown” (“The Travels of Stormy the Clown”), street theatre show and clowning by Michi Tarallo, of Viandanti Teatranti

6 p.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

Workshop “Approach to theatre training”, by Viandanti Teatranti

9 p.m. – Teatro Sociale

“The late Mattia Pascal, the man who lived twice” – price €15

9 p.m. – Teatro Manzoni

The musical “Pinocchio” – price €10, full, €5, reduced.

Saturday 13 April 2019

12 p.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

Veronica Gonzales presents “Teatro dei piedi” (“Theatre of the Feet”), by the Teatro Fratello Sole

From 2 to 4.30 p.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

Theatrical animation by Viandanti Teatranti.

3 p.m. – “Il viaggio di Stormy il Clown” by Michi Tarallo

4.30 p.m. – Teatro Fratello Sole

“C’era due volte un piede” (“Twice Upon a Time, There Was a Foot”), by Veronica Gonzales – a show of foot puppets for children – price €5

From 4.30 to 5 p.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

Presentation of the show “Iliade donna”

5.30 p.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

The show “Cappuccetto rosso più o meno (più meno che più)” (“Little Red Riding Hood more or less (more less than more)”) by Viandanti Teatranti

From 6.30 to 8.30 p.m. – SpazioTeatro

“Aperitivo a Teatro” (“Aperitif at the Theatre”) – price €10

9 p.m. – Teatro Manzoni

The musical “Pinocchio” – price €10, full, €5 reduced

9 p.m. – Cinema Teatro Lux

The film “L’estate di Gino”, with the participation of Don Gino Rigoldi, by the director Fabio Martina and Don David Riboldi, the chaplain of the prison in Busto Arsizio – price €5

From 3.30 to 9 p.m. – Teatro Social

“Una notte in teatro” (“A Night in the Theatre”), for children (free)

Sunday, 14 April 2019

11 a.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

“La Giara” (“The Jar”), presented by the “Crespi” High School, by the Teatro Sociale

3.30 p.m. – Teatro Sant’Anna

“Il mostro coraggioso” (“The Courageous Monster”), animated reading by Progetto Zattera – price €6, adults, €4, children

4 p.m. – Spazio Festival, Piazza S. Giovanni

Presentation of the event “La nascita di una vocazione: incontri con uomini straordinari” (“The birth of a vocation: meeting with extraordinary men”), by Teatro Aurora

4.30 p.m. – Cinema Teatro Lux

Cinema and snack with the movie “C’era una volta il principe azzurro” – price €5, adults, €3, children

9 p.m. – Teatro San Giovanni Bosco

The play “Kintsugi ovvero donne (libere) si diventa” (“Kintsugi, or becoming (free) women”), by Viandanti Lab – price €6

The events scheduled at the Spazio Festival are free of charge.

Addresses of the theatres in Busto Arsizio

Sociale: Via Dante Alighieri, 20 – www.teatrosociale.it

Manzoni: Via Calatafimi, 5 – www.cinemateatromanzoni.it

Fratello Sole: Via M. D’Azeglio, 1 – www.fratellosole.it

Lux: Piazza S. Donato, 5 – www.cineteatrolux.com

SpazioTeatro: Via Luigi Galvani, 2 bis – www.palchetto.it

Aurora: Via S. Pietro, 15 – www.ssapostoli.it/aurora

Sant’Anna: Piazzale Sant’Anna, 1

San Giovanni Bosco: Via Bergamo, 12 – www.cinesgbosco.it.