In 1904, the steamboat  General Slocum  caught fire and sank on the New York River, resulting in the deaths of more than a thousand people. At the time, it was one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history. The event made a profound impression on a passerby – Trudy Ederle’s mother, Anna. Many of the deaths were preventable. Although the boat was relatively close to shore, women at that time had been discouraged or even prevented from swimming, as it was deemed unse

Lucia  Raffaella Mariani enters the stage tentatively, almost nervously, wearing a robe over a swimsuit. She begins by asking what at first seems a simple question – whether she can make the audience fall in love with her before the production ends. The reason for the red roses we were given soon becomes clear: we are to adorn the stage with them by the show’s conclusion if she has succeeded. The premise posed by Mariani is more complex than it first appears. The suggestion t

Italy  is a country steeped in tradition and ritual. This manifests in countless ways, big and small: church ceremonies, university graduations and the acceptable times of day to drink cappuccino. And then there’s football. To the non-aficionado, football’s entrenched place in Italian culture requires some explanation. The national side is among the most successful ever, and when they play an important match, everything grinds to a halt. The powerhouse domestic clubs have won

L’ombra del Gelsomino is a fluid blend of drama, dance, and physical theatre, and the quality of the performances is simply outstanding.

Shakespeare  wrote in  Hamlet  that the function of art is to hold up a mirror to nature. Alter_Azione  is a piece of performance art created and directed by Gaia Gemelli, staged in the lovely Zo theatre, as part of the Catania Fringe. While perhaps predominantly a piece of dance, the production also comprises components of physical theatre and ballet; it is an impressive fusion by  danzarte . Ovid’s  Metamorphoses  is one of the drivers of this show. The theme centres around

There is a plethora of influences and pressures on the modern-day woman. She will be bombarded by advertising, which can be subtly and iteratively undermining. Pretty much any website she uses, either through necessity or choice, demands acceptance of terms and conditions. There is societal conformity with its myriad of forms: education, housing, religion etc. We especially encounter gender expectations, against the prevalent backdrop of patriarchal dominance. Women are still