11:00, Nimis
Teatro Oratorio
A journey through the myth of Prometheus, telling the origin of animals and humankind. A story about life, imagination and the timeless question that defines us: Who we are?
By and with
Francesco Picciotti
Produced by
Divisoperzero
Puppet
Francesco Picciotti
Set up
Miriam Di Domenico e Francesco Picciotti
Type of show
object theatre
Duration
60 minutes
Age
5 years
Synopsis
This is the story of how all animals were invented, including that strange creature without horns or fangs, capable of creating marvellous things such as enormous cities teeming with life and jaw-dropping monuments: humans.
The myth of Prometheus speaks to the very nature of human beings, to what makes them what they are: a creature unlike any other, capable of profound, convoluted reasoning, such as that which leads them to ask: ‘Who am I?’
It speaks of the complicated relationship with technology, which grants humankind an innate power but, at the same time, makes them dependent on their own inventions. It pokes fun at rather insecure deities, who need mortals more than mortals need them.
On stage, a puppeteer-narrator-craftsman gives voice to all the protagonists of the tale: from the radiant Aphrodite, to the fearsome Ares, to the industrious Hephaestus, right up to the greatest of them all, Zeus, who tasks his cousin Prometheus with populating the earth, the heavens and the seas with beings of all kinds. Prometheus uses all his ingenuity and inventiveness to ‘assemble’ a wide variety of creatures, culminating in the creation of humankind.
But Zeus, annoyed by the resourcefulness of that strange biped, decides to bring him to heel. Prometheus will do everything in his power to protect his ‘children’.
The puppets and props are created by combining everyday objects: ladles and spoons, table lamps and pieces of wood, representing the gods, humankind and the other creatures created by Prometheus to populate the world. The audience’s eyes, in turn, must perform an act of creation, transforming a jumble of pieces placed side by side into faces and bodies, practising the art of looking at everyday objects with renewed wonder. The set design, too, is constructed by assembling multiple parts that serve different functions and interact with one another whilst each retaining its own autonomy; it is a space to be inhabited, a contraption to be manoeuvred, an instrument to be played.
The show brings to a close a trilogy aimed at audiences of all ages and dedicated to classical mythology: *Pluto and Proserpina* and *The Hands of Hephaestus* are the other two titles. These performances explore various puppetry techniques (hand puppets, tabletop marionettes, rod puppets, objects and large-scale puppets) and use myth to portray the deepest aspects of the human condition. Myths speak of death and rebirth, of love and disillusionment, of successes tinged with unhappiness and of gentle sadness; telling these stories to children and families means bringing them into contact with an ancient yet still relevant vision of the human experience. A pre-scientific yet still useful form of knowledge.
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Winner of the In-Box Verde 2025 award
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Link to the company WEBPAGE
Link to the VIDEO TRAILER