A tournament between storytellers, featuring trials of courage and endurance and one paradoxical rule: to win honour, it may be necessary to help one’s rivals succeed. That is the premise of “So’Shemi”, the improvised comedy show by the Bologna-based company Teatro a Molla, staged on Friday 6 November at 9pm at the Little Tony Auditorium in Serravalle.
The evening marks the second appointment of “Teatro Vivo 26/27”, the season organised by Vo.Ci., Volontari Civici nei Castelli, together with the Castle Council of Serravalle.
The story begins with a gathering that takes place once every thousand years: the finest storytellers of the East meet in a place beyond time to prove themselves worthy of their title. The company frames the challenge as an epic, parodic and gloriously absurd tournament, where the goal is to earn honour while avoiding being the sole loser.
Presiding over the contest is the Venerable Master Miao, the millennia-old keeper of the Dragon’s sacred scrolls: “Only those who embody sacrifice, courtesy, honour and generosity will see their banner fly high.” The actors improvise stories and characters on the spot, weaving in acts of generosity and exemplary punishments, so that the show takes a different shape at every performance.
Teatro a Molla’s presence in Serravalle continues on Saturday 7 November with two improvisational theatre workshops, both running from 10am to 5:30pm. At the Little Tony Auditorium, Antonio Vulpio will lead “Brutti e cattivi” (“Ugly and Mean”); at the Sala del Castello, Antonio Contartese will guide “… e niente”, l’arte del passeggero (“… and Nothing, the Art of the Passenger”). Places are limited, and registration details are available on the On The Fly Theatre website.
The “Teatro Vivo 26/27” programme includes ten shows, all on Fridays at 9pm, running through to 9 April 2027. The next date is set for 4 December with “Dungeon World: The Show” by On The Fly Theatre.
