#commedia

Mid-1800s Europe. Francesca, a noblewoman, grows up inseparable from Paul, the servant boy in her manor; always too close, always almost something neither of them dares to name. When Francesca comes of age, her family arranges her marriage to a nobleman, Elliot. Loving Paul openly would mean scandal and ruin for Francesca, so she stays silent about her true love and chooses duty. Paul eventually leaves the manor. Years later, Francesca - married, wealthy, and trapped with someone she doesn’t love - meets Paul again in public and discovers he’s climbed the social ladder, built a name and fortune of his own, and is now a respected, selfmade gentleman. Their reunion brings back everything they buried and eventually stolen conversations become secret meetings, and desire becomes inevitable. Francesca finally confesses: she’s loved him since they were children, and she begs him to run away with her. But Paul refuses; it’s too late. He’s already promised to another woman, and he won’t destroy the future he fought for someone who wouldn’t risk hers when it mattered.

Main cast/characters for now

Francesca Archer (played by Gabriella M. / rehearsed with Will by Mike)

Paul Wellington (originally played by Troy B., now played by Will)

Elliot Ives

A little peek inside my crazy brain:

Francesca and Paul’s names are a little reference to Dante’s Inferno: Paolo and Francesca, the lovers damned for adultery, who first kiss while reading about Guinevere and Lancelot. Basically the book was their cupid's arrow, and I loved the parallel: in my fic, the play becomes that same kind of catalyst for Mike and Will. It mirrors them just enough to force them to face things (Mike = Francesca, the one who can’t admit what he feels; Will = Paul, the one who can’t wait forever). Which means Mike "helps" by playing the female part, but yes, the wig thing is still happening, don’t worry <3

Elliot Ives was my funny way to hint about Eleven

Gabriella M. and Troy B. are other actors, obv the name were taken by HSM because of the famous parallel between the ring o mania argument and their scene lol

More things that inspired me: The age of Innocence by Edith Wharton; Persuasion by Jane Austen; The sorrows of young Werther by Goethe; The last letters of Jacopo Ortis by Ugo Foscolo (I’m studying some of these for uni… sorry, my tragic ass couldn’t avoid getting inspired) and inevitably Romeo and Juliet too (This was supposed to be the play, but I needed specific lines so I ended up creating a new one, I'm just helpless)

Of course I'm always overdoing things, at first I just wanted to make a lil lawless fic but here I am and I don't know if I will ever need ALL of this but idk that was fun, bye

È innegabile il fatto che il teatro sia l’arte del “qui e ora”, dell’attimo presente. Lo spettacolo si mette in moto non appena si accendono i fari e si apre il sipario, ma un attimo dopo, la chiusura dello stesso,lo spettacolo finisce e non esiste più nulla. Tutto si ferma e la macchina si spegne. Si spengono i riflettori e si torna alla vita normale. Eh si.. perché per tutto il tempo dello spettacolo si ha come la sensazione di essere catapultati in quel palco, si vive la storia e la si accompagna emozionalmente, è come se si instaurasse una connessione fatta di un continuo scambio di emozioni e sensazioni tra gli attori sul palco e noi spettatori in platea..e quando termina il tutto, ci si sente anche noi un po' spenti!! Si ritorna a riprendere la vita reale e quel momento di magia, di trasposizione, di sogno quasi, scompare. Da quando si è chiuso il sipario, un senso di malinconia mi ha accompagnata fino a casa. L’emozione che resta dentro, dopo aver assistito a un bello spettacolo teatrale, è immensa e viscerale. Sarà anche il fatto che io direttamente viva e subisca, ormai da sempre, il fascino e l'effetto del teatro, essendo nata in una famiglia di artisti, dove mia nonna stessa era attrice di teatro e di come lo era anche mio padre e dove lo è tutt'ora mia zia, che ancora oggi, porta in alto lo scettro di famiglia e ieri sera, come sempre, è stata impeccabile!!