Lampedusa Beach

This event is part of
In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY 2025

Opening Night

Presentation of the 2025 festival including a performance of
Lampedusa Beach

In ENGLISH

LAMPEDUSA BEACH
Written by Lina Prosa, Directed by Nadia Kibout, with Nadia Kibout and Daniele Onorati

The story of “Lampedusa Beach” begins with the actress carrying the baggage of her memory on stage and beginning her slow descent into the abyss. Nadia Kibout is Shauba, an African migrant who drowns near the shores of the island of Lampedusa. In that inexorable time Shauba recounts minute by minute the chronicle of her end.
The actress thus brings to life the “Theatre of the Shipwreck.” She fulfills her mythical function of giving body to those who are not there and name to those who do not have it. Before her is the audience, facing its responsibilities. The narrative represents the very current issue of migrants.

“The sea is innocent,
the man
on the other hand has
his faults.”

Having set out for Europe, driven by the dream of her beloved Aunt Mahama who wants Africa’s children free from the blackmail of capitalism, Shauba faces her journey on a sea cart crammed with illegal immigrants, capsizing after a fight between boatmen intent on vying for the young woman’s body. The sea is innocent, the narrative suggests; the man, on the other hand, is at fault. The performance is accompanied by the soundscapes of Maestro Daniele Onorati and his oodoo, very special ceramic musical instruments.

Presented in Italy in Lampedusa, Rome, Matera and at the Solo Show Festival in Moscow, Russia.

In Italian with English Supertitles

Running Time: 50 min