When
Tuesday 22 November, 6.00 pm
Where
Libreria Cuentame, Piazza Farinata degli Uberti, Empoli
Press Office
Camilla Rigatti
In 1927, a psychiatric ward—commonly known as a mental asylum—was established at Fucecchio Hospital as a branch of San Salvi, the Provincial Psychiatric Hospital of Florence. The number of inpatients peaked at 130, all women, whom the people of Fucecchio called ‘the quiet ones’. In 1927, a psychiatric ward was established at the Fucecchio hospital as a branch of San Salvi, the Provincial Psychiatric Hospital of Florence.
The maximum number of patients reached 130, all women, whom the people of Fucecchio called “the quiet ones”. The patients lived in a state of confinement: they were always locked in their large rooms and could only get some fresh air on an open terrace enclosed by a very high metal fence. The asylum was closed on 12 October 1967.
LE TRANQUILLE is a play that touches on a variety of themes. Starting from local history – which reflects national history on a micro level – it addresses topics such as healthcare, marginalisation, and social and cultural customs, which form the backdrop to the patients’ experience in the asylum, before delving into their intimate condition as ‘different’.
This new production is part of the Labirinti: Le ore del silenzio season, a journey of discovery into fragments of stories of men and women from the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century, offering glimpses into their lives, lived almost entirely within the walls of a mental asylum. The Fucecchio asylum, which has long since closed, will serve as the starting point and inspiration for the research and collection of material that will subsequently be presented in several instalments.
During the preview performance at the Cuentame bookshop, Empoli’s only independent bookshop, director Firenza Guidi will speak about her new work, the result of extensive research drawn both from written sources and from the direct accounts of those who lived in Fucecchio during the asylum’s years and wished to contribute to the production of the show through their memories. The lead actors will then read excerpts from the play’s script and the collected testimonies.
Director, playwright and artistic director of Elan Frantoio, Firenza Guidi has been producing theatre productions and films for fifteen years, drawing inspiration from events, memories and phenomena linked to both the local and universal spheres. The philosophy behind Elan Frantoio’s work is to stage new dramas: new because the texts and stage designs are unpublished, or new because they are by contemporary authors never before performed in our country.
The next event featuring Frantoio’s productions will be in January 2012. To mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, ECLISSI will be staged, a performance conceived and directed by Firenza Guidi and based on the stories of the first 10 female prisoners sent to the Sonderbau, or ‘Special House’, the first brothel established at Buchenwald and intended for use by prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp as an incentive to productivity.