The Last Signs Of Life In Futurist Theatre

Abstract The Futurists tried their utmost to alert the Fascist authorities to the lamentable state of Italian theatre, from both an artistic and a technical viewpoint. Apart from writing about it in newspapers and magazines, such as L ‘impero, Futurismo, Sant ‘Elia, Scenario, Comoedia, Teatro, etc., and intervening at conferences and symposia, such as the international congress of the Societa Universale del Teatro (29 April-3 May 1932) or the Volta conference in October 1934 (which counted amongst its participants Walter Gropius, Alexander Tairov, Jacques Copeau, and Gordon Craig), they voiced their concerns via the theatre and arts corporations, approached influential functionaries such as di Marzio, Alfieri, Pavolini, Gray, and sought direct contact with Mussolini in order to gain public and State support for the improvement of the Italian theatre system. The concrete results of these numerous campaigns were minimal. Neither a permanent Futurist theatre nor a Futurist-inspired National Theatre was ever constructed. The only theatre seriously dedicated to innovative produc-tions - Bragaglia ‘s Teatro degli Indipendenti - was closed down in 1930. Attempts to reopen a Teatro Sperimentale in Rome were strongly supported by the Futurists,2 but neither this nor the plans for a Futurist People ‘s Theatre3 ever came to fruition. In 1937, Bragaglia opened a new venture, called Teatro delle Arti, but the work presented here until 1943 was - not unlike Pirandello ‘s Teatro d ‘Arte - normal repertoire fare in a modern production style. Attempts to step outside this narrow niche immediately brought down the sledgehammer from above (demonstrated by the prohibition ofLorca ‘s Blood Wedding on the day of the dress rehearsal).