Piero della Francesca. Il punto e la luce

According to us, the dramaturgy of the play “Piero della Francesca. Il punto e la luce” by Lucia Franchi and Luca Ricci, is the most successful element of this production. The setting is evocative, the use of the videos is supported by the text (…), the topic is strong: abstraction, geometry, science, art, construction in antithesis to the lack of a project. And, most of all, the vocation as the only possible answer to vulgarity of Piero della Francesca’s time, as well as ours. This show is a delicate gem of theatre. (Ivana Conte, I Teatri delle diversità, n° 70-71-72 December 2015-May 2016)

The painter Piero Della Francesca, closed in his studio, is the true protagonist of the play: he is always evoked, but he never appears (…). The developing of the story between the two good actors on stage brings the spectator near to Piero’s art and, giving only few “samples”of his works, it induces the public to look for them, to study in detail, to discover the language of this extraordinary artist. (Anna Barenghi, www.ilgrido.org, 20 February 2016)

Thanks to a precise use of the lighting, we follow the actors trough a light and transparent veil, which is also the support for the projection of images about crafts in the V century- typical of the village of Sansepolcro- and about the developing of the events in Piero Della Francesca’s life about 1444.
The choice of explaining the pictorial researches of the time (the use of painting in oil, the first studies about perspective, the abandoning of the gold background) through the voice of Piero’s assistant, the young Paolo (played by Gregorio De Paola), is successful. He, by the expedient of educating Piero’s sister in law (funny Barbara Petti), tells each phase of the making of the “Baptism of Christ” and the “Madonna della Misericordia” altarpiece. (…) The dialogue between the two young characters shows a naturalness which suits the action on stage. Moreover it presents references, also metaphoric, to the role of the cultural mediator (teacher, critic, academician or historian): he could explain the techniques and innovations of art to the public who, maybe unaware, cannot appreciate them at first sight, without any preparation.
(Luciano Ugge, www.teatro.persinsala.it, 25 November 2015)

In a continuous rebounding between the characters’ dialogue and their concealment behind narrative digressions (Piero and his being ahead of his own time, even if he is not understood; the oil for diluting the colors in the so called painting in oil), the show proceeds quickly, thanks to the interpretation and the direction which bring the Renaissance in a colloquial context, close to our everyday life. (Lorenzo Donati, www.altrevelocita.it, October 2015)

The pedagogical frame of the show will leave in some people the desire to look at Piero della Francesca’s works (and not only his) with different eyes, in others will arouse several doubts: maybe are there artists like Piero della Francesca even today, but we are not noting most of them? (Lorenzo Alunni, www.lavoroculturale.org, 31 July 2015)

The show is a sort of deviation from Franchi and Ricci’s usual theatre: what matters is the value of the tribute and the introduction to Piero della Francesca’s painting, the craft of his research in Sansepolcro in 1444. (Anna Bandettini, La Repubblica, 26 July 2015)

The show puts on stage a standing out woman, who is not relegated to a kitchen, giving birth to many children. She perfectly symbolizes the difficulty of the contemporaries to understand innovations in art; but, when she is instructed, with simplicity and without difficult words, in the new rules about perspective, she personifies the slow and progressive abandoning of false prejudices.
CapoTrave company proposes an elaborate work, with a good structure, also thanks to the two young actors’ interpretation: they are still a bit immature, but they play their characters with conviction; especially Gregorio de Paola possesses good vocal abilities. Amid trifling quarrels and family matters (which animate the story, particularly at the beginning), as when the future wedding between the woman and Piero della Francesca’s young brother has to been decided, the play recreates the microcosm, where the artists used to live next to their own job, that characterizes the Italian Renaissance. (Simona Frigerio, www.rumorscena.com, 24 July 2015)