L'altro Ieri ****

Walking the streets of Milan at this year’s Fringe, I stumbled upon the Wall of Dolls. A memorial to victims of female violence and femicide, members of the public are encouraged to pin dolls to the wall and, hauntingly, there are photographs of some victims. It’s all rather sobering.

L’altro ieri (which can be translated as The Day Before Yesterday) recounts the story of Franca Viola, yet another victim of female violence. However, she and her family displayed enormous courage in the face of mafia and societal pressures to ensure that these acts did not go unpunished.

In 1963, at the age of 15, Viola had been betrothed to Filippo Melodia. However, he moved away to Germany, most likely due to his involvement with organised crime. Upon his return, Melodia discovered that Viola was now betrothed to Giuseppe Riusi and therefore unable to resume a relationship with her. Undeterred, he hatched a plan.

In 1965, still aged just 17, Viola was abducted in a raid on her family home by a group of armed men orchestrated by Melodia. She was held at the home of a relative of Melodia and repeatedly raped by him over the course of a week. Her family was then contacted by Melodia, proposing that she marry him.

With the benefit of modern perspective, this may seem surprising to say the least. However, at that time Italian law allowed for the crime of rape to be annulled if the victim was a virgin and proceeded to marry the perpetrator (the so-called “rehabilitation marriage law”). Such were the societal pressures in Sicily at that time for women to conform, it would probably not have crossed Melodia’s mind that this scheme would not be successful. However, Viola’s family arranged a police operation for her safe recovery, whereupon she refused his proposal and insisted on denouncing him and pressing charges.

This course of action brought many risks and pressures. Melodia had mafia connections and Viola’s family were subjected to threats and intimidation. Furthermore, the family were ostracised by the community, as she was now deemed to be a dishonoured woman. However, Melodia was imprisoned and murdered on his eventual release. It was not until 1981 that the “rehabilitation marriage” law was finally repealed.

L'altro ieri is performed by the Capolavori company, played on different days by two actors, Aurora D’Arrigo and, in the version I saw, Alice Canzonieri. Viola’s story is re-imagined skilfully and powerfully, yet respectfully. Canzonieri is an engaging performer, her physicality impressive. She displays subtle character changes and switches between animated and stillness with ease; credit to Salvatore Greco’s direction for the pace of the production.

Franca Viola tells us that “nothing changes unless you take a risk”. She decided that she was not Melodia’s property, pushing back against the patriarchy. She did not allow her ordeal at the hands of Melodia to define her; instead, she found the courage and fortitude to strike out towards emancipation. Society and the legal framework have, of course, evolved since the 1960s, but the Wall of Dolls reminds us that violence against women remains depressingly prevalent.