Introduction

This chapter is dedicated to the history of Monticchiello and its theatre. It begins with a brief reminder of its setting. Its fortress appearance leads directly to an overview of the main conditions and historical events affecting the village in medieval times, before moving to more recent history. This complements the picture already given in the previous chapter with information specific to Monticchiello and reflected in the theatre's development. The next section describes the theatre's tentative beginnings with two plays of medieval inspiration drawn from its local history. Acknowledged links with Montepulciano's Bruscello are evidenced by the authorship of the first play. The history of the theatre was linked to the village's history from the start, but there was a departure from the initial medieval themes already in the third year. The new direction, initiated by the reenactment of the near massacre of 6 April 1944, marks the moment when the theatre started to develop the formula of dramatising itself, eroding the distance between action and acting. It also began to erode that between individuals and village in terms of authorship. The next turning point is a return to memories of sharecropping in 1974 (the same year of the Montepulciano conference and of the Bravio's beginnings). The themes of the previous chapter come to life in Monticchiello's theatre; contemporary attitudes were being contrasted with traditional values. It was only after 13 years that sufficient direction could be formulated, analysed here in terms of Deleuzian ‘Problems/Ideas’, and an official body was formed to represent the theatre in the form of a cooperative company.