Review: Visite, Coronet Theatre

The clock ticks and old age comes to us all. In their exhilarating production Visite, at the Coronet Theatre, Milanese theatre company Teatro dei Gordi use delightful humour and dynamic theatrical execution to remind us how life and relationships can change or evolve, taking us on a wonderful journey through time.

Devised and performed by Cecilia Campani, Giovanni Longhin, Andrea Panigatti, Sandro Pivotti, Maria Vittoria Scarlattei and Matteo Vitanza, this is a glorious depiction of the passing of a lifetime. In a largely wordless performance, it describes the many events that have happened in a single bedroom up until the closing chapters of one woman’s days.

An old lady packs up her things and leaves her room. It’s quite a beige, mid-century set with a clothes rack, an armchair and a double bed, telling of a possibly empty life. But as she recalls her life here, the characters from her memories inhabit the space with vigour and vitality, re-enacting them against what is actually a clean sheet for unbounded experience. The layers of bedding are stripped back as years of recollection pass, demonstrating changing colours and hiding interesting objects to be re/discovered.

With barely a word spoken, energetic physical performances from the talented cast imagine fully rounded characters and hugely emotional moments. The story celebrates friendship and love, and can be fabulously playful or at times cheeky, with a hint of nudity that makes the audience gasp before laughing out loud. In other moments, it’s poignant and reflective, creating room to consider the value of a life and of the relationships within it. The company’s crafted, signature papier mâché masks are used to indicate characters in old age, simultaneously suggesting how the inner self might remain constant even as the outward body alters. And their movement work is sharp and skilfully paced, telling of partnership and trust, with multiple costume and set changes also executed seamlessly, helping to relate developing narratives.

The storytelling is fascinatingly complex, with histories occasionally crossing over or interacting interestingly. Sometimes events occupy the same space of memory simultaneously while the characters live them separately, giving both individuality and commonality to each experience. Huge shadow-play helps tell of memory and past events, while visual absences fill in unspoken narrative – a baby that is never seen, a dressing gown now worn by the wife rather than her husband. And placing objects in a shifting timeline sees actions change meaning, such as when shoes hidden as a prank in one era become suggestive of dementia as we’re slid into another. But within the flux there’s also constancy, with a thread of the woman reading quietly as life changes around her; a gifted handbag identifying a friend from the past.

Luca De Marinis’ energising, uplifting sound design uses a variety of musical styles to give distinct character, structure and momentum to the many scenes across shifting time. Again, it’s cleverly crafted work: at one point the sound of fireworks not only marks a new year but also a volatile situation potentially about to explode.

Come the end, the characters are all masked in old age. In an old people’s ward the mundanity of existence is hilariously exemplified by a self-centred old woman playing with her reclining chair, stealing sweets and slippers. But for our protagonist, possessions are unimportant now, and as her friend comes to claim her she remains her ever playful self, which is a lesson for us all.

Visite is a wonderful piece of theatre, impressively executed. It’s a reminder of who and what make life worth living and that as you go out, you should go with a smile on your face!

Concept and Direction: Riccardo Pippa
By and with Cecilia Campani, Giovanni Longhin, Andrea Panigatti, Sandro Pivotti, Maria Vittoria Scarlattei, Matteo Vitanza
Dramaturg: Giulia Tollis
Masks and Costumes: Ilaria Ariemme
Scenography: Anna Maddalena Cingi
Lighting Design: Paolo Casati
Sound Design: Luca De Marinis
Audio-lighting Technician: Alice Colla
Assistant Director: Daniele Cavone Felicioni
Production: Teatro Franco Parenti

Visite runs at the Coronet Theatre until Saturday 16 May.