17/01/2026 20:30 - 22:30
Theatre play in Italian - Giovanna dei disoccupati
A Brechtian apocrypha.
After having written and performed a very successful apocryphal of Ruzante, Natalino Balasso takes on Bertolt Brecht in an attempt to restore the German playwright's observational spirit in the insidious contemporary context.
"Obviously we cannot imagine what Bertolt Brecht would write if he lived, today, immersed in our culture, eighty years after the end of the Nazi horrors, within a much more complex and stratified economy and finance. Yet those horrors and prevarication are wretchedly relevant today, in other forms and with more devious weapons,' writes the Venetian author and actor. "In this Joan of the Unemployed, Brecht's characters act in new contexts and with new words, but continue to be immersed in the terrain of dominance and subjection. The algorithm may seem less evil to us, but at the end of the day it is as perfidious and cruel as a master in the flesh. Multinationals continue to prevaricate, hurt and hit the weakest, in all countries. [...] And then there are the people: millions of individuals increasingly isolated, increasingly oppressed by the commercial-advertising-social world that is massacring communities. In this mass of monads emerges the economic superman, without true thought and without depth. As in Brecht's Saint Joan of the Slaughterhouses, we will see the vicissitudes of Pierpont Mauler, of his subordinates, of Cridle, of Lift, of the biggest lobbyist of the moment: the terrible Graham; a world of tycoons that is opposed by Joan Darko, with her socialist community. But perhaps an online community is not a community, but a multitude of monads telling each other the dream of the tribe. This, perhaps, is the real contemporary drama. With all humility, we are presented with this Brechtian apocrypha, as if it were written under dictation. This is only possible with the help of the immutable art of theatre which, while entertaining us, as Gramsci said, tries to throw bombs in our brains'.
By and with Natalino Balasso and with Giovanni Anzaldo, Marta Cortellazzo Wiel, Roberta Lanave.
Direction Andrea Collavino
Scenes Anusc Castiglioni
Costumes Sonia Marianni
Lights Cesare Agoni
Dramaturgy Natalino Balasso
Musical curation Celeste Gugliandolo
Production Centro Teatrale Bresciano, Teatro Stabile di Bolzano, Emilia Romagna Teatro ERT / Teatro Nazionale
Approach
We suggest using public transportation. From Merano railway station take the citybus lines no. 1 or no. 4 to the ‘Piazza Teatro’ bus stop. The theatre is situated at the Piazza Teatro in the city centre.
There are reserved parking spaces for people with disabilities in the Therme car park.
You will find bicycle parking spaces along Corso Libertà, near the theatre. Take care not to park bicycles and e-scooters carelessly. They can pose a danger to blind and visually impaired people as they create obstacles to safely walking along paths and finding entrances. People in wheelchairs and parents with pushchairs can also be hindered by carelessly parked bicycles. Please use the bicycle parking spaces provided.
Dates
17/01/2026 20:30 - 22:30