L'amica geniale a fumetti

L'amica geniale a fumetti comes to the Basement Theatre on Saturday 7 November, brought to Aberdeen by the Italian Institute of Culture in Edinburgh in partnership with ATER Fondazione. It's a stage adaptation of the graphic novel My Brilliant Friend by Mara Cerri and Chiara Lagani, which itself draws on Elena Ferrante's novel of the same name. The graphic novel won the Premio ALMA Speciale Animazione 2022, and this show grew out of Storia di un'amicizia, three plays based on Ferrante's saga.

On stage, Chiara Lagani, who founded the Fanny & Alexander company, writes and performs the piece. She plays an adult Elena Greco, seated at a desk with a few objects, while Mara Cerri's illustrations run animated across a maxi-screen. Together they retrace the friendship between Lila and Lenù in Naples, starting with the childhood episode in which the two girls throw their dolls into a basement and believe Don Achille, the ogre of their infancy, has carried them off. The production is directed by Luigi Noah De Angelis, who also handles the video and music, with sound design by Vincenzo Scorza.

It's performed in Italian with English surtitles, and runs for about an hour and a half. You'll find the Basement Theatre at the Aberdeen City Campus of North East Scotland College, Gallowgate, AB25 1BN. The show is on Saturday 7 November from 18:30 to 20:00, and it's free, though you need to book your place by emailing rsvp.iicedimburgo@esteri.it.