Author: Rosanna Turcinovich Giuricin

In a world where everything is shouted, Cristicchi arrives on tiptoe, fills the stage with sweetness and conquers the world. We experienced with Magazzino 18 the same atmosphere full of expectations and emotions that a few years ago brought to Trieste – with the meeting of the three presidents of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia – to a concert by M.ro Muti in P.zza Unità d'Italia. Even then, thousands of spectators, elegant, orderly, sober, without any kind of smudge, after days of fierce controversy that had anticipated the event and demonized it. As with Cristicchi, even before seeing the show, some people were already crying scandal... but the magic of the theatre like honey permeated everything, untied the knots, anesthetized the anger born from pain and washed every bad thought in emotion. For days, show after show, the audience, standing, thanked this singer, actor, boy, adult, who with a light step crosses the rubble of history and gives everyone back their reason, without opposition because history has been, must be pigeonholed. Persichetti, the archivist all about numbers who “puts his heart into it” helped by the ghost of Masserizie, takes care of it. Now Trieste awaits Cristicchi's return, because the show must be seen again - everyone repeats it - almost in a catharsis, to understand and comprehend the other, to look in the mirror and recognize oneself. But how did Simone experience this success? “Initially I was afraid that the controversy that preceded the debut would overshadow the work done for the show, work that cost me a lot of effort, a year and a half to find the right words, invent the characters, write the songs. Then there was – as many in the audience called it – “liberation”! I believe that the success of that week in Trieste is one of the greatest emotions and satisfactions I have ever experienced in my career, and in my life." What happens in an author when he is faced with so many truths that he has to dose in the right way? “Sometimes I found myself with Jan Bernas, changing even just one word. Unbelievable but true! In this story, even one word could have been too much. At a certain point, I was even tempted to cut the entire “historical” part of Magazzino 18, just like that: to avoid interpretations that were too “biased”. How do you tell a hundred years of history in 5 minutes? Of course, we had to leave out many things, and rightly so, some experts in the field pointed this out to us. But a theatrical performance is not a conference. If I have used simplifications, I have done so only to avoid burdening the audience. Not for “dark” reasons, or for superficiality...” Your show is the result of patient research work, supported by Jan Bernas but also by contact with many people who found themselves in Magazzino 18. What have you transformed into during these long preparatory months? “From mental hospitals to mines to the Second World War, I have always sided with those who suffer history, with those who remain speechless by the hurricanes of fate. In these months, I have become aware that I have done something great for those people, who for more than 60 years have been waiting for their story to be told. What pleased me most was that the show was enjoyed not only by Slovenians (which is not a given!), but also by the great mass of people from Trieste who knew little about this topic. As a Roman, I just tried to be equidistant, not to take a clear position, to leave the judgment to the public. This is how we shake off the burden of memory: by exorcising it!”. An episode that you now like to remember from this long investigation? “After writing most of the text, I went to Istria for a holiday. In Pola, walking through the old town I came across the memorial dedicated to the Vergarolla massacre. The strange thing is that I didn't know where it was... it's as if someone, some soul, accompanied me. When I saw the plaque in memory of Micheletti, I was moved. Now my dream - I believe unattainable - is to bring the show to the Arena of Pula, on the anniversary of Vergarolla, August 18th! I hope it can be done, sometimes dreams do come true." Taddei, your collaborator, wrote on Facebook that it was hard to leave Trieste. Why? Does it always happen or has something different happened in the city of San Giusto? “Trieste is a “magical” and fascinating city. How many more stories there are to tell! Every time you leave, you leave a little piece of your heart behind. Try to imagine after all the affection received... In fact, it is a city on a human scale, where I would like to live...” The newspapers have announced your tour in Istria and Rijeka, what do you imagine, what do you expect, what would you like? “When last July, in a small village in Istria, I met two very elderly gentlemen. The first one was moved when I said goodbye to her, but she didn't want to talk about her experience as a "remainer". I think her husband was thrown into a sinkhole, and for this reason she remained in an embarrassed silence. She still looked scared. The other elder, instead, cursed Titus and blasphemed, saying “How many unfulfilled promises... what a disgrace!”. I am very curious about what will happen in December, when I bring the show to Istria. I hope to find the same warmth as in Trieste, the desire to overcome divisions together. But what I hope most is that the show is not perceived or presented as “biased”. Before Magazzino 18, what was Istria for you? “I spoke of Istria as a “ghost region”, a sort of “Atlantis”, sunk into the sea. For many people it is still like this, something unknown. Perhaps it doesn't even strike most Italians that in those lands there are unmistakable signs of Italianness! Among the many things that struck me in my research, there is one that I want to transcribe for you. Persichetti said it: “Yes. I've drawn up the inventory! And in the meantime, in addition to getting me into a hospital bed, I've also developed a certain culture, you know? She knew that the word “istrione” comes from the Etruscan Hister, which means mime. Istria was the region from where the first comedians came: the histrions. In short, the actors for the ancient Romans. And since we Romans didn't understand Etruscan, what did they do? They recited without speaking. In short, whoever has that root seems condemned to have no voice.” Then you met Piero Delbello who took you to see the furniture, did you really hear the ghost in that sea of ​​chairs with a name? “I am an “animist”, I believe that even objects have a soul! In warehouse 18 you can breathe the history of the exodus, but also the intimacy of the houses that contained those objects. The last time I went there, I even found the bingo numbers! Piero had promised to give me an “Istrian” chair, if one day I did something to tell their story. That chair has now become my lucky charm for the tour, and it will travel with the rest of the set but I will not use it on stage. For me it is “sacred”! Now the adventure of Italian theatres. Aren't you afraid that your proposing these issues to Italy will become the mission of a knight without a sword and without fear? “While in Trieste, for historical and geographical reasons, the public could have a smattering of knowledge on the subject, I believe that in the rest of Italy the public will be mostly amazed by the story I will tell. Today, both left and right, there is still debate about the foibe, but how many people know what it meant to live in a refugee camp for 10 years, or Goli Otok? How many people know Geppino Micheletti, Norma Cossetto or Marinella Filippaz?” To what extent do you now also feel Istrian-Fiuman-Dalmatian?