7-14-21-28 by Rezza-Mastrella at the Bellini Theater | Interview and review

The interview with the artists Antonio Rezza and Flavia Mastrella and the review of the show 7-14-21-28 staged at the Bellini Theater in Naples

Tell a show about Antonio Rezza and Flavia Mastrella is never easy. An antinarrative par excellence, Rezza never creates a plot for his own works nor invents or deepens real characters.

With "7-14-21-28", On stage from the 12 February at the Bellini Theater in Naples, the artist uses algebra again (after the previous Fratto X) to perennially remind the viewer that we are now nothing more than many numerical references that roam the company in search of an identity no longer ours.

Although the show has already been proposed in theaters in the 2009, theirreverence, the excess and the provocative comedy that distinguish it are more current than ever. And when, with the curtain open and the lights still off, we sense the presence of a Rezza already active on the stage intent on swinging on a swing placed right in the center, we immediately realize that something surreal is about to happen.

Completely immersed inhabitat created by Flavia Mastrella, between red drapes, wedding veils, laces, ropes, nets and platforms, Rezza jumps, screams and runs naked back from one character to another without warning.
So we can meet the man submerged by psychological problems easily treated with a Zigulì, father frustrated and angry with an imaginary son; thefactory work precarious and pessimistic who can not satisfy the demands of his children; the pedophile priest; the bride and groom "in front, back and gorge".

However, the highlight is given to us by the scene that gives the title to the opera, a sort of game of the bell that makes men perfectly identified with the USEFULL with whom they now live in symbiosis. And at that point we can not be surprised, participate in the evolution of the scene, laugh out loud and finally reflect.
Yes, because, despite the apparent nonsense of the episodes of the show, the surreal that we are facing is also a rundown criticism of issues such as the distorted health that wants to make us happy with psychotropic drugs, theanticlericalism against a church that is losing its values, the solitude of modern man, the politics reduced to grunts issued by equal candidates.

In short, a show prickly and fun, in which, to be the master, are the body and the extraordinary facial expression of Antonio Rezza.

Below, we bring you ainterview made by Napolike to the artistic duo, both before the show at the Bellini Theater and during the short presentation Troppolitani 56, screened the February 11 at the former Asilo Filangieri. A documentary that deals with the theme of racism and intolerance through paradoxical interviews made to passers-by in Milan, the most multi-ethnic city in Italy.

The short film Troppolitani 56 addresses the delicate theme of racism ..

AR: In my opinion, basically, racism does not exist. One of the messages of the documentary that we shot is that there is only one stupid thing of people, because each of us has a personal vision of things.

The 7-14-21-28 show was staged for the first time in the 2009. Where does the need to re-propose it come from?

FM: The first time we staged it in Naples was in the 2009 at the Galleria Toledo, a smaller theater than the Bellini. In fact, for the occasion, the Gallery itself changed its spaces, enlarging its stage to allow us to stage the show. This year, however, we will perform in a larger theater and with more suitable spaces.
AR: Personally, I find this show a much more courageous work than Fratto X.

Has something changed in the script, after so many years? Or has something changed in you?

FM: Antonio's body has changed. The words of the script are the same, but the way to propose them has changed.

Refer to algebra with both Fratto X and 7-14-21-28. Why this combination?

AR and FM: these are two parts of a trilogy; in fact, the equation will continue with a third show, which does not have a title yet, but which is currently being processed and will be released in the 2015.
We are moving more and more towards the numerical, we become more and more specific and we move towards the scientific rather than towards the humanist. By now, everyone has 7-8 numbers that follow him in life, including ATMs, credit cards and more. Each person is becoming a number and even in the show every space becomes a number.
Also, there are no real characters, but various manifestations of me (Rezza, ed).

Entering more in the private..tu and Flavia are filming a video that sees you and your child protagonists.

AR: yes, we document his growth and my degrowth. Every three months we film and transport him until he is the one to transport me, when he grows up. All this until I die and he will carry my coffin. So I can be an actor even when dead, it's a way to continue acting also in the afterlife. The film will be released in all cinemas between 40 years!

Tonight you go on stage at the same time as Napoli's Coppa Italia match ..

AR: Unfortunately yes, this is why I predicted that if we do less spectators than expected, Napoli will lose the game ... I will tifer Roma! (Laughs)

In collaboration with Francesco Branca