The Bard seems to have written King Lear to frame the relationships of power and power and, at the same time, the love relationships and family dynamics linked above all to the three daughters: Gonerilla, Regana and Cordelia.

Following their marriage, Lear decides to renounce the throne and divide the kingdom between Gonerilla and Regana by disinheriting his third daughter, Cordelia, by whom he feels betrayed. Cordelia, expelled from the kingdom, thinks that her old father is depriving himself of power by falling victim to the greed and selfishness of the two older sisters, heirs and queens, who deny their father even royal privileges, leaving him alone and misunderstood. Lear, now abandoned to himself, decides to wander the woods because he wants to stay away from his heartless daughters. Time passes and Lear, constantly followed by his faithful Fool who becomes the voice of his conscience, begins to lose the light of reason and goes mad while the only one who could console him is his daughter Cordelia.

A massive text, full of breathtaking dialogues.

The adaptation of the Leap of the Dolphin focuses on the figure of the King in relation to the personality of the actor who plays him. Two apparently distant figures who tell their own story on parallel tracks: the King and the actor. What humanity can unite them?

Two 84-year-old men, each with their own experiences: different passions and sensibilities for two temperaments that appear hard and unfriendly. Yet they loved and they too were loved.

Indeed, this is the point: the old King wants to know who of his three daughters loves him the most; based on their answers, he will be able to decide whether, and to what extent, to inherit the land and money he owns. Shakespeare hardly ever talks about the King's wife, barely mentioning the fact that she is dead.

Lear must carry alone, on his shoulders, the weight of a choice, and the burden of his mental fatigue, as he slowly approaches towards the grave. By drawing attention to the analysis of the text, the figure of the Queen is as if she came out of the folds of writing, so much so that the director felt the need to call her by name.

A name, Elisabetta, which has meant so much for the actor who plays it.

Not an easy task, even when you are old: bringing this character to the stage. Indeed, precisely with the actor's ability to identify with the old man's experience, emotions multiply: old people clutter up and often have to seek compromises with their children.

Lear would like to visit Gonerilla and Regana, from month to month, taking turns. Daughters would like to choose for their father the situations and people they think are best for his old age. His Majesty is not there, he claims to be the King, lucid and aware. Like the actor on the stage, capable of interpreting and wanting to win for himself the approval of the spectator people.

The Fool, a madman, provokes the King and somehow takes care of him.

The actor looks back and, like Lear, confronts his past: intemperance, love, conflicts, tensions and second thoughts about “socially” behaviors considered unacceptable.

Everything takes place in an almost deserted scene, almost a desolate land of the soul, where anything can happen, where the ghosts of what has been manifest themselves: the testimony of dreams (or nightmares) with open eyes, never realized, which now they can no longer fly towards an epilogue other than the tragic.

The Fool marks a road to redemption which even he cannot fully believe in.

The King would need a hug from Cordelia, the third daughter, towards whom Lear feels unfair and whom the actor hugs to mitigate the expectation of what will be and to make the unscrupulousness of life itself less bitter.

We cultivate the weight of this sad time, entrusting the fool with a chance to transfigure it: the Fool tries hard but, like every fool, has difficulty in making himself understood by the wise.

The husbands of the daughters stand at the window, unaware that they too are in the roulette wheel of life. The King tries to be fair but, as often happens, the absolute truth does not lie in a single point of view: the rusts that derive from his choices are difficult to resolve and the emotional wounds bleed silently.

The show "Tino Petilli è Re Lear" awaits you in the national premiere on September 16 at 9 pm in Cagliari, at the Arena Parco della Musica. The Salto del Delfino teatro has produced this work as a tribute to Maestro Tino Petilli and the public who Despite the difficult times for theatrical production and distribution, the artistic direction of the Company hopes that the show will be able to run in theaters to continue to propose its works and to be able to invest again in future productions.

The Fool is played by Nicola Michele, who also oversaw the adaptation and direction.

The choice of music is by Tino Petilli.

The costumes were designed and created by Emilio Ortu Lieto, with the precious collaboration of Cinzia Moro.

The scenographic elements are by Pietro Rais.

The photos and graphics bear the signature of Stefano Obino.

The digital stage make-up project is by Alessia Angioni.

Audio and lights are by the company Scenotecnica.

The press office is managed by Simone Cavagnino.

We look forward to seeing you on September 16th in Piazza Nazzari in Cagliari, at the Parco della Musica Arena.

Thanks

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