"Idiota"

The acting and scenic dramaturgy are characterised by their immersive approach: the audience becomes an integral part of the scene – they are not just observers, but direct interlocutors of Myshkin. Every evening, the actor selects four ‘privileged’ women from the audience, to whom he assigns stories and roles and presents them with an object, without however demanding anything from them.

This dramaturgical device underlines the urgency of the themes addressed and allows the classical text to enter into dialogue with a contemporary consciousness. The few objects on stage transform throughout the play, stepping out of and back into their realistic meaning as the narrative unfolds. This is not a classical monologue, but a narrative character, while the audience – invited into the Epantchin house or witnessing the last hour of a condemned man – does not respond.

Rhythmic interludes and surreal moments fragment and intensify the narrative, transforming the stage into a transitional space between reality and symbolism. Marie's story – with its universal message of exclusion and suffering – emerges as a parable that transcends the temporal boundaries between text and present.

Emilio Ajovalasit's direction lends the play an otherworldly emotionality through a rhythmic and surreal narrative style that alternates intense emotional moments with moments of lightness and irony. Myshkin's fragility is reflected in a fragmentation that captures the colours and contradictions of Dostoevsky's Russian world.

Costantino Buttitta, born and raised in Lucca, has been working in theatre and performance for over fifteen years. His professional career began with Maurizio Donadoni and Andrea Battistini, and he completed his training at the Alessandra Galante Garrone Acting Academy.

He later had a formative artistic encounter with Renata Palminiello, a director and actress from Thierry Salmon's circle, with whom he collaborates. He also works with directors and acting coaches Valerio Binasco and Michael Margotta (lifelong member of the Actor's Studio). In 2017, he moved to Palermo, where he still lives today, to work with Emma Dante and the Compagnia Sud Costa Occidentale. This collaboration resulted in the productions Esodo, Extra Moenia and Abbecedario della quarantena. He also took part in further training courses under the direction of César Brie and Alessandro Serra.

In the field of film, he has worked with Costanza Quatriglio (Palermo sospesa) and Gianluca Leuzzi (Vacanze in Transilvania, produced by Warner Bros.), and in television with Vincenzo Pirrotta, Salvo Ficarra and Valentino Picone (Corale nel silenzio, produced by RAI). Over the last five years, he has devoted himself increasingly to dramatic writing, with a particular focus on contemporary and comic language. His original plays include Eskere and Neocollagenesi, both produced and performed by Teatro Biondo and the City of Palermo, and Turandot Non Esiste, produced by the Fondazione Festival Pucciniano in Torre del Lago. In addition to his work as an actor and author, Costantino Buttitta is also a handpan musician, which he regularly integrates into his performative works.