Review: NOVECENTO, The Print Room

Alessandro Baricco's Novecento, beloved monologue of many an Italian and more, is presented as the evening bill at the Italian Theatre Festival. It's directed by Gabriele Vacis and starring by Eugenio Allegri, the team who brought the show to life for the first time in 1994.

After the trainwreck of Hanno Tutti Ragione, this production is a breath of fresh air but it's not without fault. Given that it's performed by the original one-man cast and features Vacis' authentic direction, one needs to consider that this is what the monologue must look and sound like.

Allegri's character comes off as drunk, or crazy, or both retelling the life-story of his bandmate and best friend Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon Novecento. He is constantly on the move and over the top, bouncing to the nearly-ever present orchestral music, his unrest comparable to the ocean's; his delivery is strong and definite, stemming from his innate ability to be a storyteller.

Source of Giuseppe Tornatore's film The Legend of 1900 with Tim Roth, Baricco's script is well known to be ever-compelling and evocative as well as delicately written. The cacophony of energy of the initial part suddenly comes to an end when Allegri abruptly changes the tone of the show and turns it upside down into a somber and profound reflection on life. As expected, he is an exceptionally refined actor and the shift is swift and elegant.

The stage is scantily clad with only a big sheet as a background and a tiny piano hanging from a wire, the latter becoming pivotal in a definitive scene in the production. Projected are photos and animations that are unnecessary at most but give a visual and metaphorical representation of what Allegri is feeling.

Novecento's power undoubtedly lies in its writing and Allegri's performance - albeit baffling - is certainly not without reason and it is to be recognised as the accomplishment of both the writer and director's vision.

The Italian Theatre Festival runs at The Print Room at the Coronet 30-31 August.

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