Performance “The Silk Cell”

Theatrical performance “THE SILK CELL. Me and Marco Polo” by Ippogrifo Produzioni.

The script, co-written by Marco Gnaccolini and Alberto Rizzi, features a rich linguistic exploration. The direction focuses on the power of words, storytelling, and the evocative strength that stories carry through the voice and the interpretation of Francesco Gerardi. The spoken text blends harmoniously with live music composed and performed by Maestro Giorgio Gobbo.

Rustichello, from Pisa, and Polo, from Venice, are enemies. They are captured by their common foe, Genoa, and forced to share the harsh, almost inhuman space of the Genoese prisons. From this deprivation—not only of freedom but of every shred of human dignity—an extraordinary bond forms between them that surpasses even the deepest friendship. The absurdity of war becomes starkly clear in that ruthless place, revealing its illogical cruelty. And it is precisely in prison, where everything is taken from them, that Rustichello and Polo become the voice and means to discover the deeper meaning of existence, just when it seems completely emptied of meaning. The life that pulses and stirs outside the prison walls is what they desperately cling to for mutual survival. To save themselves, they invent within their six square meters a world a million times larger, more magnificent, and more incredible: a world made of words and stories to share, pass down, reenact, and interpret. And it is that million that will dramatically break out of prison: a million stories transcribed word by word on paper, redeeming not only their souls but their very selves, granting them freedom, releasing them from prison, and becoming the European bestseller for over five centuries.

The performance is sponsored by Generali Italia Spa.
Duration: 70 minutes