"Sir..." "Sir..." "Sir, what do you want?" " Sorry?" " What do you want?" "I'm sorry?" "What do you want?" "!" "You must have something if you're sitting at a table." "It's written over there." "Sorry, I had my earplugs in, I couldn't read." " You mean "hear"." " No..." "I mean "read"." "What do you mean?" "!" "You were reading..." "No, I was looking at the pictures." "Bring me a tea with milk..." "Petrushka." "If something infernal and truly diabolical exists in the world, it's the aesthetic lingering on forms rather than being like martyrs at the stake making frantic gestures." "Petrushka..." "Let's abolish the difference between the stage and stalls and replace them with a single space so that direct communication will be re-established between the audience and the piece, between actor and public." "Petrushka..." "There won't be a set anymore, there will be ten metre high mannequins representing King Lear's beard in the storm, and musical instruments..." "as big as men." "Petrushka!" "We won't recite written texts, we'll just improvise mis en scene experiments on themes, events or well-known theatrical works." "Petrushka!" "The idea of the integral piece has to be recreated." "The problem is how to allow the space to speak, to be fed, to be filled." "Although the film image is poetic, it's limited by celluloid, and you can't compare it with the theatrical image that obeys all the demands of life." "Without a touch of cruelty as the basis of a piece, theatre is no longer possible!" "Petrushka, my trousers!" "Mum, give me the sun." "Give me the sun, mum." "That's what was called "to prompt" in the past." "That beast Petrushka would sell his mother for a 1000 lire, and his mastertoo." "And he sold me..." "Oh, I'm sure he sold me for less than 1000 lire." "There are no more prompters." "The world's going to pot, because no-one knows how to prompt anymore... and what's worse is they have nothing to prompt." "Petrushka!" "Petrushka!" "Petrushka!" "Petrushka!" "What are you doing?" "I've been waiting for my trousers for an hour." "Dinner won't be served before... 8.30 or 9.00." "Perhaps I've arrived a little early, but so what?" "It's not even an official dinner, so you can arrive a bit early," "I'm almost part of the family, as everyone knows, that's right Clara?" "Good evening professor." "Clara..." "Clara." "Good evening madam!" "Why does he always follow me..." "like a black cat?" "Good evening..." "is the professor in?" "Yes, he's at home..." "I mean no, he's not at home." "How's that possible?" "He invited me, I know him." "Yes, I know sir, but they told me not to let you in." "You've made a mistake." "My name is Giacobbe and I was invited to dinner for Clara's birthday." "That's impossible, they told me not to let you in." "Impossible?" "What do you mean it's impossible?" "Well now..." " Good evening." " Good evening." "The professor sends his apologies but he can't receive you this evening." "But... what's going on?" "Please..." "I assure you that I..." "Please don't insist." "But..." " Good evening." " Good evening." "Alright, I'll come back later..." "so good evening." "What's going on?" "What's wrong with Giacobbe?" " What's up?" " Nothing at all." "I came here on my own account." "It's about my life, my private life." "Private life?" "That's right." "A deliciously private parenthesis!" "Please calm down!" "Come in." "Close the door." "Giacobbe." "Don't be so tense, Giacobbe." "I'm... not tense." "Yes you are..." "Feel the blood running through your veins?" "In my veins?" "In your arms, Giacobbe." "In my arms?" "How it beats in the temples." "In the temples." "Giacobbe... don't you feel like you're going to faint?" "You're going to faint, aren't you, Giacobbe?" "No." "Ah, Giacobbe..." "Look at me, Giacobbe." "Yes..." "Your eyes are closing, Giacobbe..." "Closing..." "You're in my hands, Giacobbe." "Go back to the professor's house, use the servants' entrance, go through the garden, then the games room, then the ballroom..." "Go, Giacobbe, go!" "No, I'm scared." "You're just a coward, Giacobbe, a big coward!" "It's not my fault I'm scared." "Giacobbe... you'll be close to Clara." "You want to dance with her, huh?" "Dance with her and hold her in your arms?" "Yes..." "Well, go then!" "Yes..." "Yes, I'm going." "Bye then..." "Clara..." "Clara?" "Hi!" "I want these stairs to collapse, so I could rush to save Clara." ""Don't be scared", I'd say," ""I'm here, my love"." "Clara?" "Clara?" "Hi!" "Clara?" "Clara?" "She loves me..." "She loves me..." "I swear I'll shoot myself in the mouth, tonight." "I'm here for private reasons." "Shame on you, Giacobbe, shame on you!" "What have I got to be ashamed of?" "It's a deliciously personal parenthesis." "There's someone asking for you at the entrance." "Who wants me?" "I don't know, they just said it was urgent." "Urgent?" "No, my friend, no-one wants me." "Please, sir, come with me." "No-one's looking for me." "You've made a mistake, just like before when you said the professor, who's like a father to me, didn't want to let me into the house." "You're wrong, as servants always are!" "Wanna dance?" "You're all wrong, as servants always are!" "Leave me alone." "I said leave me alone!" "Son of a bitch!" "You were good at being crafty just now, but now you're scared!" "Take that!" "And you..." "And you!" "I want to see what you can do... you were talking before, there were fifty of you, you needed fifty of you!" "Come on, try it again now!" "And you, you ugly dirty shit?" "!" "And all of you, I know you're hiding behind there!" "Bastards!" "But I'm the strongest!" "So now you're on your knees, good, you're asking for my forgiveness, huh?" "Come on, ask me..." "Ask my forgiveness..." "louder!" "Louder, because I want to hear it..." "Get up... yes." "Now you're crying, fine, you can cry..." "Let go..." "let go of my leg, you..." "let me go!" "Now you're hiding again, eh?" "But I'll get you." "Come out... you bloody cowards..." "cowards!" "Bastard!" "Blood, blood, blood!" "Othello... blood!" "I told you not to touch my son." "Maria Caffarel, an old work, "The Two Little Orphans"." "Leave her alone." "You might make me forget her or not see her again, but you can't take her from my heart." "That's ham-acting from the past." "Numbers..." "Numbers spoken with violence and sensuality, with disgust." "One..." "Two..." "Three..." "Four..." "Disgust..." "That's worth five." "I'll give you another example..." "With irony..." "One..." "Two..." "Three..." "Four..." "How ugly you are." "Five." "Sexuality..." "One..." "Two..." "Three..." "Four..." "Five..." "Six..." "Seven..." "Eight..." "And here, before saying 'ten', swallow, make some saliva." "Feel this 'ten', so that you can..." "Ten." "So, if you do ham-acting at school, you won't do it on stage, because you'll be ashamed of yourselves." "Good morning everyone." "If you're here, you're here, if you're not, you're not." "I won't start till there's order in the class." "Talking about this and that, I squeezed her bosom." "Saint..." "Saint Benedict's day, swallows under the eaves." "All roads lead to a bed." "Italy can do without Piacenza." "Know why all astronauts are white?" "A long time ago, a spaceship crashed to the earth." "There were survivors... who were white." "These whites realised that all the earthlings were black." "Having seen the situation, the astronauts wanted to return to where they'd come from, back to their planet." "Which explains why no black person has ever wanted to go into space." "It's the whites who try to return to the planet of their birth, but they'll never do it." "They'll never do it..." " Parrot..." " No, never." "Spy and green... but Elena's grandmother goes to mass every morning." "Do you prefer soup in your hair or a hair in your soup?" "My maid has retractile nipples." "No, no, no..." "And now, let's move onto 'O'." "Those who don't like coconut are uncivilised and stupid." "The bells rang the tocsin." "At the bottom of the well, is hidden a mutilated red person." "Seven hours a body, eight hours a pig." "The climate in Congo is torrid for the mercenaries." "The sun rises, the cock sings, Mussolini gets on his horse" "He "mounts" his horse." "FREEDOM FOR VIETNAM!" ""Crito..."" ""We owe Asclepius a cock"," "Socrates said... and then he killed himself." "Don't be stupid." "What are you doing there?" "What do you normally do in a urinal?" "I want to die." "Bullshit..." "I've heard of suicides in trains, in wells, planes and catacombs, but never in a urinal..." "Leave me in peace." "Oh, no, I remember now..." "He was a priest... who left a written note:" ""Too many buttons to button-up and unbutton..." "I'll kill myself."" "Why are you all persecuting me?" "Be good, get up." "I'll get up if I want to." "Now do up the buttons on your cuff." "Come on, do it." "No..." "I'll do it when I want to." "Look around you..." "Look at nature." "Nature isn't natural." "The trees..." "The river..." "No, no, no... you and I are on different paths." "It's mathematically certain we're on different paths." "This is the 'dark room', or at least that's what I call it." "It doesn't seem that dark to me." "I don't like it... it's musty." "Maybe because it's in a bit of a mess." "What's your name, sorry, how should I address you?" "Giacobbe." "'Giac' and 'Cobbe'..." "Junior and senior..." "Kriminal and Diabolik." "I'm Giacobbe." "So who am I?" "Excuse me, but I want to speak to you informally." "Giacobbe, I'd like to know to what I owe the honour of..." "These things happen..." "Life is beautiful." "'Life is beautiful' is an idiotic phrase..." "And I'll smash your face!" "Oh, I'm extremely sorry, I didn't want to offend you," "I just wanted to teach you that 'life is beautiful' is just a cliché." " Fine..." " And I'll teach you not to teach." "So, to what do I owe the honour?" "I'm hungry." "What do you want to eat?" "Fried eggs." "Just think, I really like them too!" "I'll do it!" "Giacobbe?" "Yes?" "You look like me, but I like you." "It still has to be established whether it's me who looks like you, or vice versa." "Hey, why are you making that face, Petrushka?" "I just said "Four eggs, that's something new"." "What difference does 2 or 4 make to you?" "Nothing, I just said it was new!" "Why are you bothered about my eggs?" "Because it's something new!" "Listen Petrushka, as of today there'll be lots of new things, just new things, loads of new things..." "Life is beautiful!" "It's a commonplace, a cliché." "Anyway, who says so?" "Give me the eggs." "Hurry up!" "What's up?" "Not eating here?" "No, sir, I'm going to eat them in my room." "Petrushka... one day I'll get you out of there and you'll die of fear... because that hole is your view of the world." "So, did he realise?" "Who?" "Your servant." "Petrushka?" "You're joking." "Speaking of which, want to know something?" "Petrushka's not my servant, he's my landlord." "It's him who wants to be treated like a servant." "The more I mistreat him, the happier he is." "He's a bit of a masochist..." "they all are." "He was in the theatre, he was a prompter." "Giacobbe, you haven't said if you'll accept or not." " So many books..." " Do you like them?" "They're yours..." "They're yours Giacobbe, all yours..." "What's mine is yours, I mean "ours"." "Did you buy them?" "Yes, all of them, I bought them all." "I mean, do you want to know a secret?" "I stole these books, that's why I love them more than the rest." "Let me show you, eh?" "This is the latest, my favourite." "Giacobbe, we'll live like two brothers, and you can stay here for now, and forever if you want!" "What do you think?" "Listen, here we have, guess what?" "Your room." "Only the bed's missing, but I'll get one today." "Don't worry, you won't miss anything." "I'll cook for you and make zabaglione, eh?" "And then..." "Please, help me Giacobbe..." "I want all the others to die of anger, eh?" "Look, if you refuse... it'll be a sin." "A sin?" "Yes... exactly, because you'll insult nature." "Look..." "See how generous nature is..." "Look at this..." "See, are you convinced?" "Looks like it was made to measure." "Fantastic, isn't it?" "Now let's try the shoes." "You know it's... extraordinary..." "Honestly, it's unbelievable..." "it's crazy." "It's fantastic..." "'O divine similarity between our feet!" "'" "Me and you, Giacobbe, will be astute, we've got to be smart, understand?" "We'll scheme, scheme against the schemers, eh?" "Together we'll be..." "we'll be the worms in a corpse, eh?" "Just think, Giacobbe, just us two alive inside... inside a big dead thing, eh?" "!" "Giacobbe..." "Gia..." "Giacobbe..." "It's Petrushka." "It's Petrushka." "It's Petrushka!" "Come here, come..." "Come and hide." "Wait Petrushka..." "Just a second Petrushka!" "There's a letter." "Who brought it?" "They pushed it in under the door." "Read it to me, Petrushka..." "In a loud strong voice, with feeling," "You know how..." " With a diaphragmatic voice." " Diaphragmatic?" ""My dear, I know you're suffering because of me, so I suffer too." "And you don't know it." "Schemers, blasphemers and wretches want the worst for me." "Red Flag!" ""They've sensed your feelings and they've separated us." "Since then I've been forbidden to go any place where I might meet you." "I can't go on like this anymore..." "After the events that night when everything was celebrated except my 18th birthday..." "I've made a decision." "There's a party tonight at my cousins' house at 17, Via Trengolone..." "Wait for me in the street around midnight." "I'll come down to get some air and we'll elope together." "I love you, Clara." "P.S. Get a car"." "What are you doing?" "I'm preparing the suitcase." "You should buy some new socks." "How can you elope in darned socks..." "with a woman?" "Get dressed." "I am dressed." "Well, dress up then." "Are you my servant or not?" "I am your servant." "Servant and driver." "No." "Driver, because you must drive." "I can't drive..." "Me neither." "Which means we'll steal a car at the top of a hill and we'll roll it down." "Yes, we'll roll down!" "Petrushka, are you still here?" "Come on..." "Hurry up, fly!" "So, are you happy?" "What are you up to?" "Nothing, nothing, leave me alone." "Clara has asked me to elope with her, she wants to elope with me." "Can you believe it?" "She's so much in love she wants to elope with me!" "With me..." "Give it to me!" "It's written here:" ""I love you, Clara"." "She thought of eloping, she wants to elope with me!" "Are you happy or unhappy?" "Happy, unhappy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy..." "The brake, Petrushka, the brake!" " Come on, don't be stupid..." " Otherwise where's the fun?" " Poor Giacobbe, I feel sorry for him." " He's already received the letter." "Here he is, go on!" "Let's go, Petrushka..." "Let's go." "There are already fireflies..." "have you seen them?" "Fireflies?" "Oh, the worms that glow..." "Worms that glow?" "I don't like the idea." "'Worms that glow' is ugly." "Dirty girl." "Cow." "Tart." "Slut." " Look at my hand, look at it." " But..." "I told you to look at it..." "Look at my hand." "Petrushka's totally deaf." "On your thighs..." "Can you feel it?" "On your tits..." "Here..." "Here!" "Come on, smell here..." "Smell me here, under here." "In the armpits..." "Come on, smell me here first." "Come on... do it." "Breathe deeply, breathe deeply through your nose." "You like my hand, don't you?" "Whore... whore..." "You're a whore." "Is it true that you're a whore, isn't it?" "You like it..." "Come on, say it, you like it, you're a bitch on heat..." "Kiss me." "Kiss me." "Kiss me." "Stop it!" "Hey, old man..." "I'm sorry it all went wrong." "I have the impression that it wasn't a success, was it?" "Don't take it seriously." "Ulysses returns to Ithaca and who's the only one to recognise him?" "An old dog, flea-ridden, blind and half-deaf." "That's how women are, my friend." "They have an animal's instincts, and I knew she wouldn't fall into the trap." "But it all went well with Clara, Giacobbe..." "What do you mean, 'well'?" "I'm tired now, Giacobbe." "I'll tell you tomorrow." "Hey, Giacobbe, I can't hear you." "I want to know everything..." "Giacobbe!" "She loves you, she loves you a lot." "And?" "She likes hearing what you say to her." " What else?" " She likes the way you kiss her." " And?" " She likes..." " What?" " She likes..." " I don't understand." " She likes..." "She likes... she likes... she likes..." "First night with the double." "Second night with the double." "Third night with the double." "First arrested at the Hotel Denmark," "Rue Jacob, 1959, 13th February." "Taken by prison van to the castle of If." "Arrived at night." "Stayed 14 days." "Four interrogations and a line up." "Transferred to Aix-en-Provençe prison." "Sentenced to 5 years." "Had visit from... question mark." "Six escape attempts, the last successful." "Reincarnation of Arthur Rimbaud." "Interned in Val de Grâce Military Neuro-psychiatric Hospital." "Interrogated, declare myself to be Arthur Rimbaud." "Three months later they give me the name 'Arthur'." "Another escape." "Freedom, arms dealing, opium, hashish, kiff." "Arrested by the Abyssinian police." "Raped by 108 guards." "Repatriated to France at the Republic's expense." "Sentenced to hard labour, 10 years." "Imprisoned again on the Isle of Elba." "Freed 5 years later for good conduct." "Assumed the identity of worker priest." "Corruption of miners in Marcinelle, Belgium." "Shut away again in Room 14," "Hotel Dineur, due to lack of prison space." "New escape." "Freedom." "Hidden in a cattle car." "I head South." "Freedom." "Freedom." "Close relationship at Testaccio Abattoir, Rome, Italy, with a policeman, ever-faithful." "Abandoned." "Exploiting my good looks I get by for three months." "Second meeting with... question mark." "Hey, I've had an idea!" "Giacobbe..." "Giacobbe, I've had an extraordinary idea!" " What do you mean?" " Oh, it's a marvellous, sublime idea." " Come on, say it." " It's an idea that's..." "No, I can't tell you." "It's so wonderful I'm ashamed of myself." "Well, I'll go and shave." "Wait..." "Giacobbe..." "Giacobbe, you're my brilliant idea." "You're strong, big, with you I'm sure I'd pull it off." "Pull what off?" "I want to..." "Put on..." "Put on my show." "Which show?" ""Power to the Imagination"." "What is it?" "Just imagine, try to imagine everything you can imagine." " Who will you do this play with?" " Maybe the Academy students." " The kids from Alcatraz?" " Why not?" "What are you doing?" "I'm imagining..." "What are you up to now?" "There's something I don't understand." "What?" "Come on, say it." " How come the door's open?" " I asked myself the same thing." "We locked it last night." "It's not locked because you opened it." "I told you I can't explain it either." "But I'm sure we locked it with the key last night, I'm certain." "Could be you went out last night, no?" "Oh, no... no my friend, you went out last night!" "Think so?" "There's only one answer." "Right!" "There's only one explanation..." "One of us is lying..." "Sounds pretty obvious to me." "Anyway, it can't be me who's lying, because last night I dreamt, and if you're dreaming you're sleeping, and if you're sleeping you can't go out." "What did you dream about last night?" "I dreamt about a big bottle of Lambrusco... and there were spiderwebs, and..." "I don't remember." "Hide." "We're here to work..." "to work... on the preparation of a show." "When we're ready something will happen." "When something happens we'll be ready." "For the moment remove the chairs and desks." "Sit down in a circle." "Ninetto, get up." "Ninetto plays the Jew's harp." "Jean Robert lights a cigarette..." "and offers it to Salvatore." "Sibilla walks and revolves." "Rochelle brushes Nicole's hair." "Paolo reads "Paese Sera"." "Read." "Sibilla revolves." "Revolve... revolve... revolve..." "Rochelle brushes Nicole's hair." "Brush." "Sleep..." "Dream..." "Revolve..." "Smoke a cigarette." "Talk about dreams." "Collect some books." "Play the Jew's harp." "Could we say something's happening?" "No..." "Nothing's happening." "Things aren't as we see them, or most of the time, as we hear them." "They're as theatre shows them." "Things fall prey to evil..." "meaning unreality." "Theatre is one of the means which lead mankind to reality." "Things were real in the beginning, the world in its infancy was real, it had a resonance for mankind." "Seeing the world at the time..." "was to see the infinite." "There's something horrible growing inside me now, that doesn't arise from within me, but from the darkness inside me, and soon there'll be nothing but our obscene masks which poorly mimic reality among the spittle and dung of this world." "The moral is..." "You need a bottle..." "Fill it one-third full of sand." "Stop." "A little soap powder." "Stop." "Then some Mayakovsky vodka." "Stop." "Then you get some cotton..." "impregnate it with fat." "It stops the air getting in." "Last job..." "A cork and a fuse." "Light the fuse." "They explode one in five times." "They explode one in five times." "We stand for joy..." "For grace... for happiness... 37." " 28, 32, 52..." " 89!" "37, 47, 80." "42." " In my office." " 42." "See you in Philippi." "Good morning, Professor Giacobbe." "Good morning..." "but I'm not at home," "I'm teaching lessons at the Academy." "Tell me, how's it going at the school?" " Fine, it's going fine." " And Artaud?" "How is he?" "Fine, he's gone to Mexico." "You did this once before." "We have to recognise that today we're living in a time of decadence regarding purifying liquids." "The consumer has become so prudent and suspicious that he unconsciously links them to a kind of fire that devours objects." "Chlorine and ammonia cause a violent transformation in the nature of the material." "Ammonia liquid burns filth, it kills it... whereas Spash, for example, or similar products... soap powders don't ruin things at all." "You're tired." "Not at all." " But you look tired, visibly tired." " No, no." "No..." "No, no, no..." "I was saying that soap powders don't ruin things." "Indeed they free the object from a temporarily imperfect state without traumatising it." "Soap powders don't kill filth, they banish it." "For us friends of detersives filth is a little enemy, a nasty little devil who flees your sheets, scared away by Spash's avenging threat." "To conclude..." "To conclude..." "To conclude..." "Chlorine and ammonia are tools of war, and we know..." "that all wars are blind, whereas soap powders have a discriminating function..." "They act selectively... a police action, not an act of war." "Spash eliminates without killing." "But advertising's a tool of fascism, and you serve fascism." "I don't see how." "You live with all these detersives?" "Yes..." "But I live with my television too." " How many televisions have you got?" " Two..." "One colour and one black and white." "But there isn't any colour tv yet." "Really?" "I see it in colour." "You live with your parents?" "I sell detersives." "Are you married?" "No..." "No." "You don't like marriage?" "No." "You wouldn't like to have children?" "No." "Why not?" "What do you think about love?" "It's a filthy thing." "Does 69 mean anything to you?" "69?" "No, what is it?" "Important things will happen in '69 that will change the world." "They'll make it cleaner?" "Do you know the bosses you work for?" "No." "You're not interested in knowing who they are?" "I'm sure they're clean people." "Why?" "Well, why?" "You think they use their detersives?" "The liquids, yes, but not the ammonia ones." "When you visit people's homes, do you sell more to men or women?" "Men." "And what do you do when they decline?" "They never decline." "Why?" "Well?" "What do you do with the men?" "I do this..." " I do this..." " We may say that freedom is black... and gets confused with sexual freedom which is even blacker." "The poison of theatre is dispersed through the social body, it decomposes it, as St. Augustine said." "The poison of theatre is dispersed through the social body, it decomposes it, as St. Augustine said." "But it's a poison that has the results of the plague, it's an avenging scourge, a redeeming epidemic." "What can I do for you?" "She's the first person to see us together." "Yes." "It mustn't happen again." "Yes." "Where could he have gone?" "Giacobbe!" "Giacobbe!" "Who is it?" "Stop playing around." "It's me." " Me who?" " Me!" "Who did you expect?" "But... where are you?" "What's it to you?" "How can you sleep in this storm?" "I don't understand." "Aren't you too afraid to sleep?" "How can someone who's sleeping be afraid if he's sleeping?" " Giacobbe!" " Yes?" "Don't tell me you're still in bed." "Where should I be?" "Get up!" "Get up now!" "You irresponsible nutcase, don't you know that beds are the most dangerous place?" "And no more arguments!" "Where are you?" "In the pine wardrobe." " In the wardrobe?" " Yes." "Well, well..." "the double's afraid of thunder." "Turn it off!" "Turn off the light!" "Are you crazy?" "We could both die..." "nothing attracts lightning like electricity." "See?" "I suppose you're happy now." "I heard a swishing sound." "Huh?" "What's that swishing sound?" " It's me, me moving around." " Why, what are you doing?" "I'm wearing a blanket, I feel cold." "You're crazy!" "Throw it away, take it off Giacobbe!" "The air's charged with electricity, didn't you know that?" "!" "Seems like you're doing it on purpose." "Well, you tell me what to do." " Get four glasses." " I'd have to go all the way to the kitchen." ""I'd have to go all the way to the kitchen"!" "Have you ever seen someone burnt to death?" "Hurry up!" "What a pain!" "Well?" "Where have you got to?" "Giacobbe..." "Giacobbe, I can't hear you anymore." "Giacobbe!" "Giacobbe!" " I've tripped on Mark Twain." " On who?" "He's an American." "Don't you know him?" " Tell me what to do with these glasses." " Put them on the ground... at the four corners of an imaginary square." " Done." " Get a chair." "Hurry up!" "I'm going!" "Now what do I do with the chair?" "Put the chair legs into the glasses." "You're crazy..." "And now?" "And now, and now!" "And now you sit down, don't you!" "Your feet mustn't touch the ground, otherwise it's a waste of time." "Done?" "Good." "Now you're safe..." "You're perfectly insulated." "Good night, Giacobbe." "I say it starts like this, with the night, the violent light of the lightning and the roar of thunder." "You're in the wardrobe, and I'm perched on a chair like an owl." "Petrushka enters and asks me" ""What the hell are you doing there?"" ""Nothing." "I'm a bit nervous because of the storm..."" "Petrushka bursts out laughing..." "And then, like an excited child, he says" ""Why?"" ""It's a wonderful night..."" ""The sky's filled with stars..."" ""What you just heard was... a cannon..."" ""What you saw were..." "the machine guns flashing!"" "It's started!" "It's started!" "It's started!" "1, 2." "2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 2." "Our subject is primarily life, but if you feel that life's missing something steal a movie camera and try to give life a style." "Do long panning shots of life, in Techniscope and colour if you have broad ideas." "Do static shots of death, in black and white if you like early Godard." "Or make double exposure films." "Cinema's part of our show..." "Our show's part of cinema." "And what is our show?" "Shoot a man with a machine gun, guillotine him, cut him to pieces." "Soon his body will no longer bevisible, but the decapitated man will continue to exist, not just in one place, but everywhere." "That's our show!" "Decapitated, mutilated, cut to pieces, not just in one place, but everywhere..." "The city will be without light tomorrow evening at 9." "Cafés, theatres, piazzas, streets, houses, TV sets..." "Complete darkness!" "Two of you will penetrate the power station... turn it off, turn it on again, turn it off, turn it on again, many times..." "30 times, 40 times." "The light has to come and go in a rhythmic, obsessive way." "Millions of brief flashes in millions of individuals' eyes." "That's how the show starts, in the family." "Altogether now..." "It's forbidden to forbid." ""It's forbidden to forbid..."" "It's prohibited to prohibit." ""It's prohibited to prohibit..."" "Free the passions." ""Free the passions..."" "Free expression." ""Free expression..."" "Distributors have no soul." ""Distributors have no soul..."" "Ejaculate your desires." ""Ejaculate your desires..."" "Steal your happiness." ""Steal your happiness..."" "Consume more, live less." "See you tomorrow, bye..." "A man of theatre's only duty is to make theatre..." "Because a man of theatre's only duty is to make theatre!" "I'm just doing some exercises." "That's why I..." "That's why actors have to go out onto the streets." "Let's throw the masks away." "Let's throw the masks away!" "Let's throw the masks away!" "Cry Giacobbe, cry." "I'm not an actor, I'm not an actor anymore." "Stop!" "You're crazy, Giacobbe." "It was you who wanted me to play this game, wasn't it?" "And now..." "And now insanity." "You need..." "to build... walls..." "Walls... walls... walls..." "You promised you'd tell me about the show." "I'll tell you a little every day." " Start now." " It'll be terrifying..." "You promised you'd tell me about the show." "Poetry smuggling." "The fatuity of the dying." "The generations not reconciled." "And?" "And... the people think they're immortal." "They have to be given a sense of death." "You promised you'd tell me about the show." "It'll explode in a few hours." " Where?" " In the heart of the city." "Will the kids be ready?" "They are ready." " How does it start?" " Theatre." " How does it end?" " Theatre." " Theatre?" " Theatre." " Theatre." " Theatre." "Theatre!" "Theatre!" "Theatre." "Cinema..." "Maybe their parents found out and locked them indoors." "No." "No, no, no, no..." "Ninetto doesn't have a family," "Nicole lives with Gigi, so what happened?" "What happened?" "The schemers..." "It's them... they've denounced us." "No..." "They're too afraid of the scandal, an entire class deserting the Academy would frighten them." "So what's going on?" "What's going on?" "!" "What's going on?" "!" "What's going on?" "!" "Because a man of theatre's only duty is to make theatre!" "You're all witnesses!" "They stopped the kids from coming because I wanted them to make theatre!" "What's this passing of clouds..." "and this African wind?" "What's going on?" "!" "Why these old stones?" "!" "Rochelle?" "Rochelle." "Rochelle." "What's going on?" "Umberto!" "Umberto!" "Umberto?" "Umberto!" "Umberto, what's going on, Umberto!" "What's going on..." "Umberto!" "Nicole..." "Don't you smell something horrible?" " It's just musty." " No..." "No, it's different." "No, it's as if..." "as if something was rotting." "I smell nothing." "Must be my imagination." "So... tell me." " What should I tell you?" " Well, everything." "There's nothing to tell." "The show?" "There's nothing to tell." "It was a real disaster." " There's nothing to tell." " The youngsters betrayed you..." "They sold you out." "And what I least expected happened." "You're talking about the kids?" " No, I'm talking about you." "You failed." " Yes." "So what?" " Nothing." "You failed, that's all." " Yes, but..." "What do you mean?" "We can start again." "We'll find new people like you and me, and you'll see we'll put the show on." "No... it's impossible now." "You mean, the show won't happen?" "Oh yes, the show will happen..." "But we won't be there." "What a shame, I really liked it." "Yes, I've known that since the day I spoke to you about it." "But... what the kids did is inexplicable, they liked the show too." " Of course, in fact they were frightened." " It's simple." "Do you think they liked the show more than me?" "No... but the kids..." "are different from you, they're..." " What?" " They're the same as me." "And were you scared?" "Yes..." "I've felt a terrible fear, since I started thinking about it." " Real fear?" " Yes, real fear, scared to death." "Why do you think I sent you in my place?" "So you mean, I'm some kind of exception?" "Yes, you're a great partner." "I'm a great partner?" "Know what I think of that?" "I'm happy about it, yeah..." "But... it's basically not true." "Why not?" "Because, after all, I failed too." " Yes, you failed." " Exactly." "But you saved yourself." "Listen... what's this?" " A guillotine." " It's for chopping off heads?" "Yes." "Usually, yes." "It really can cut!" "It's been used already." "It's brand new." "Ready to be used?" "It was meant for you." " So much effort just for me?" "!" " Oh, yeah.." "A waste of effort, because killing you's no longer necessary." "Wait a second, I don't think I really understand." "If I'd have succeeded, you'd have cut off my head," " But since I failed, you won't..." " It's logical, isn't it?" "Yes, sure..." "But not really." "If you'd have pulled it off," "I'd have killed you and taken your place, meaning that I'd have returned to mine." "But you failed, so I don't need to kill you anymore." "It's all over anyway..." "So the slicer serves no further purpose?" "No." "Listen..." "I've got something that's a little boring to tell you, if you don't mind." "Something heavy?" "Yes, quite heavy." "Take these and put them in." "No, I've got my own, you see?" "Don't be offended." "Let's open the parenthesis..." "I bet you haven't understood anything, even if it's obvious." "You just need to look around you, next to you, or two rows in front of you, or behind your backs... there he is, spying on you, your Giacobbe." "Because you have him too, he's what you want to be." "That's why he scares you, and you avoid him, denying his existence." "But think about what you could do together." "What would happen if all our Giacobbes would gather into a mafia, a party, an army and fought against our enemies?" "Be brave, try to find your Giacobbes when you leave here." "Invite him in, offer him two eggs." "Free the beast and the show will happen." "And it'll be permanent." "Close parenthesis." "It fits me perfectly, it seems to have been made just for me." " It was moulded to my neck." " What did you say?" "Nothing, nothing..." "Couldn't you have found a simpler way of killing me?" "Your head..." "I needed your head." "It had to disappear to avoid any doubts." "I'm bored, what shall we do?" "Stop, or I'll jump." " Want a cigarette?" " Thanks, but I don't smoke." "Look... they're pretending they haven't seen you." "They haven't seen me yet." "Giacobbe, they're pretending they haven't seen you because they're scared you'll change your mind." "What do you mean?" "I mean they expect you to jump because they hate you." "Shut up." "Giacobbe, it's you who taught me that you must jump to make them happy, jump now." "Shut up." "They won't wait much longer." "They'll lift their faces and scream at you to jump." ""Jump!", they'll scream!" "That's enough, don't say anything else." "If you jump, I'll jump too." " Giacobbe... where are you going?" " For a walk..." "Wait, I'll come with you." "Giacobbe... shall we start again?" " I don't know." "Time will tell." " And the kids..." " Did they really betray us?" " I don't know." "Time will tell." "Giacobbe..." "I still don't know if we two are one or two..." "I don't know." "Time will tell." "Giacobbe..." "Giacobbe!" "I've had an idea!"