“an impactful piece of theatre that uses a unique perspective”
Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini was brutally murdered in 1975, his body beaten and crushed by his own car. The events surrounding his death are still shrouded in mystery; although a perpetrator confessed, they later retracted their statement and the extent of Pasolini’s injuries suggested there were others involved. Ma, directed by Artistic Director of Theatre for the Venice Biennale, Antonio Latella, delves into the politics and art of Pasolini through the perspective of his bereaved mother, portrayed with vivid intensity by Candida Nieri.
The piece is delivered in Italian, and for non-speakers like myself, the necessary subtitles are available on screens or projected onto the back cloth. We are at first presented with Nieri stood in profile, starkly lit, dressed in black and restricted by a pair of enormous shoes. A single tear hangs from the end of her nose, waiting to fall into the handkerchief that she cradles in front of her. It is followed by further tears racing down her face as her body slowly starts to buckle from the undoubted silent pain felt after losing a son. Nieri is the driving force of Ma and delivers a raw and gut wrenching monologue tackling just how to say goodbye.
Pasolini made many enemies for things he said, wrote and portrayed on film. Nieri curses herself for teaching him to speak, read and write, as if she hadn’t, this may have saved him from his untimely death. Ma explores the mother as creator, as much as it questions by how much she is made by her son through his films. Half way through the piece audio excerpts from Pasolini’s films are played as Nieri stares out to the audience. Unhelpfully for non-Italian speakers, only the titles of the films are displayed and so for 10 minutes I was completely lost. Stylistic repetition in the dialogue helps to orient the audience, however, as the piece builds it becomes much harder to understand the content of what is being said, as the subtitles flash through too quickly to read, although the emotion is palpable.
Latella and Nieri have created an impactful piece of theatre that uses a unique perspective of the esteemed director. Even if you know little about Pasolini or even Italian, the passion exhibited by Nieri’s ‘Ma’ can nonetheless be admired.
Reviewed by Amber Woodward
MA
was at Print Room at the Coronet as part of the Coronet International Festival
