Teatro Gioco Vita on tour in Canada
From May 5 to 19, Teatro Gioco Vita is on tour in Canada with the show Sonia and Alfredo, which will be guest of important international festivals dedicated to artistic production for children and young people.
Sonia and Alfredo – a place to be is a sweet and moving story about friendship and solidarity. It is based on the books Go away, Alfredo! and Are you there, Alfredo? by Belgian author and illustrator Catherine Pineur. The stage version for actors and shadows merges the two books into a single story. Direction and set design are by Fabrizio Montecchi, the shadow puppets –taken from Pineur’s drawings– are by Nicoletta Garioni and Federica Ferrari. Through few, essential words and puppets drawn simply but to great effect, two actors/animators create on stage characters able to represent the great themes of life with delicacy and touching simplicity.
Co-produced in 2020 with the French MAL - Maison des Arts du Léman (Thonon-Évian-Publier), the show was created in both the Italian and French versions. After being successfully staged in Italy and France and presented in prestigious European festivals (in France, Belgium, Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Romania), now it arrives in Canada, where it will be performed in French and, for the first time, in English language.
Sonia and Alfredo debuts in French on May 5 in Montreal, at the Théâtre Outremont, co-presented by Casteliers.
On May 7 it is staged again in French at the Théâtre Outremont, this time as part of the Festival Petits Bonheurs, event exclusively dedicated to artistic creations for the little ones.
The English version debuts in Ottawa on May 11, at the Ottawa Children’s Festival de la jeunesse (OCF), long-lived and famous festival dedicated to the performing arts for 'children of all ages' which presents the best productions on the Canadian and international scene. Sonia and Alfredo is on stage at the Arts Court Theatre from May 11 to 14, with performances in both English and French language.
The last stage of the tour is Toronto, where the show is guest of the WeeFestival, event dedicated to children aged 0 to 6 which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary with a programme of ten productions by leading artists and companies from around the world. Sonia and Alfredo is staged in English at the St Alumnae Theatre on May 18 and 19.
All performances in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto - fourteen in total - will be followed by a meeting of the theatre company with the audience.
Teatro Gioco Vita's tour in Canada is supported by the Italian Cultural Institutes in Montréal and in Toronto, Emilia-Romagna Region and ATER Fondazione.