Theatre

Together with the dancer Maria Ricotti, Enrico Prampolini launched the theatre of futuristic pantomime in 1926. The performances took place first in Paris, then in Italy from 1928 onwards. The catalog “Théâtre de la pantomime futuriste” (1928) shows the pantomime portrayals of the actors and dancers, costume designs and stage designs and contains brief introductions of the most important artists involved. Prampolini’s dynamic ideas, to focus on colours, rhythm and stage architecture, contrasted with the static presentations from Maria Ricotti, who concentrated on facial expression and gestures. Ruggero Vasari combined six short works in “La mascherata degli impotenti ed altre sintesi teatrali” – the synthesis mentioned in the title, “The Mask of the Powerless”, consists of a single grotesque-dramatic act. The syntheses are accompanied by six woodcarvings by Prampolini. In its’ second series, the magazine “Noi” moved away from literature and towards the visual arts. The issue shown here is dedicated to the theatre and contains numerous pictures from the stage world, in addition to Prampoloni’s manifesto “L’atmosfera scenica futurista”. The play “Balli Plastici” was performed in Rome in 1918 and is part of the “Teatro Plastico”, which was designed by Gilbert Clavel and Fortunato Depero. In this plastic theatre, the actors and dancers were first replaced by wooden marionettes and later by a kind of robot.