The 'travelling invention': new practices of an ancient trade in Pippo Delbono's theatre

This article proposes a “diffraction reading” that tackles one of the most successful and interesting\r\ntheatrical experiences of the last decades in Europe, Pippo Delbono’s work, using an evocative\r\ncomparison with the professional way of life and trade of the Italian Commedia dell’Arte. There\r\nis no phylogenetic evolution from the old form, and Delbono’s performances are certainly not\r\namong the many contemporary works that found outright inspiration in what has become a‘mythical’\r\ngenre. Still, the contemporary troupe in its “inexhaustible wandering”, European identity\r\nand mutual solidarity between all its members, seems to collect some of the greatest legacies of\r\nthose comici who were authentic foreigners that provoked and aroused disturbance in the public,\r\nattracting, bewildering and fomenting scandal.\r\nThe comparative approach, centered on the core relationship between historical and contemporary\r\nscenes, seems also to give a contribution to the debate on contemporary theatre studies,\r\nplacing present and past phenomena in a long-term perspective to avoid the risk of focusing solely\r\non the present.