Romeo Castellucci’s “The Potato Eaters” at the Venice Theatre Biennale

Director and writer Romeo Castellucci decided not to use one of the usual venues of the Theatre Biennale for his new work, but chose a very particular site-specific place. The Potato Eaters (I mangiatori di patate), unfolded on the tiny island near Venice’s Lido, called Il Lazzaretto Vecchio (the Old Lepers Hospital). It was in 1423 that the Venetian Senate decided to set up the first ever hospital for people infected by the plague. Over the centuries, the hospital and other buildings on the island have had many uses, including a military base and a dog kennels. In a succinct programme note, Castellucci gives little away about the work’s meaning, but does point to the ‘Lazzaretto’” as the ‘front door’ leading into the production. The work’s title, moreover, recalls Vincent van Gogh’s painting by that name, in which he portrays a family of peasants, eating a frugal meal of potatoes. The lowly, half-lit kitchen and their demeanour reveal their harsh lot. This, one might suppose, could provide another interpretative key as to the themes and atmosphere Castellucci, with dramaturg Piersandra Di Matteo, has explored.

A group of about twenty audience members set off from Venice’s San Marco for the opening show in a water taxi to reach the island, not knowing quite what to expect. Once there, we gathered at the entrance of the former leprosy hospital and received our instructions. We were told it would be dark inside, at times pitch black, when we were asked to stop and wait. It would grow very noisy, and earplugs were provided. We promptly set off along a very dark corridor, where the windows had been boarded up to keep the light out. From the start, I was acutely aware of the breathing of the people walking close to me, the muffled sound of their footsteps, their flitting shadows in the dark, our interdependence. One quickly realised that this visionary director had structured the ‘dramatic action’, as it is defined in a programme note, into a series of stage pictures, beautifully lit and accompanied by stunning sound effects (by Scott and Oliver Gibbons). The first stop was a cavernous area, with a cobbled floor, which emerged from the darkness, thanks to careful lighting effects. Another short walk, and we encountered a silent figure, draped in black cloth, twitching almost imperceptibly on the floor. Suddenly a deafening noise of wind and rumbling made the air around us shudder. This continued for some time, bringing images to mind of an earthquake, volcanic eruption, an apocalypse. The only option was to stand and hope that the noise would finish. Then the main action began as a huge winged creature loomed large, eventually giving way to a group of miners, armed with pick-axes and carrying a black body bag.  In silence, they began undoing the bag to reveal a woman’s naked body, very pale and smattered with blood.  The men proceeded to tend to her feet, putting a bandage on one foot, after which one of them appeared to put something into her mouth and she began to emit a loud metallic sound that continued, only ending when she collapsed to the floor and was carried away. Another micro-action featured a man, taking what could be potatoes from a bucket and eating them, then offering them to his companions. These stage pictures formed the core of this extremely moving, sometimes quite frightening, theatrical experience.

Having immersed audience members in the setting and atmosphere of this former leprosy hospital, made darker and more sinister by the absence of daylight, Romeo Castellucci offers us a meditation on hardship, poverty and suffering. But not only: mercy and altruism also play a part, if one considers that these men are capable of actors of caring and giving. With respect to the theme of this year’s Biennale: Theatre is Body. Body is Poetry, Castellucci’s work is in perfect sync, since he foregrounds the actor, inviting them to perform in the context of these beautifully honed dramatic actions.

Year and duration: 2025, 45’ (world premiere)
By: Romeo Castellucci
Music and voices: Scott Gibbons, Oliver Gibbons
Dramaturgy: Piersandra Di Matteo
With: Luca Nava, Sergio Scarlatella, Laura Pante
And with: Vito Ancona, Jacopo Franceschet, Marco Gagliardi, Vittorio Tommasi, Michela Valerio
Technical direction: Eugenio Resta
Sculptures and machines: Plastikart Studio – Amoroso & Zimmermann
Stage technique: Andrei Benchea
Sound technique: Claudio Tortorici
Electric technique: Andrea Sanson
Engineering: Paolo Cavagnolo
Production direction: Benedetta Briglia
Production: Caterina Soranzo
Organization: Giulia Colla
Costumes: Carmen Castellucci, Francesca Di Serio
Technical team in Cesena: Gionni Gardini, Dario Neri
Actors in Cesena: Nicolò Francesco Russo, Mattia Bartoletti Stella
Administration: Michela Medri, Elisa Bruno, Simona Barducci
Economy: Massimiliano Coli
Production: Socìetas
Co-production: La Biennale di Venezia