I have returned to Firenze from a wonderful Christmas summer break in South Africa with a bit of tan... slightly sun bleached hair... my toe nails still painted... and the odd grain of beach sand held hostage in my bag. Relaxed. And ready steady go.
So, last term (and last year now!) we had the privilege of playing Matteo's own masks. The magic they capture when played on stage... their changing expressions that move you to laughter and tears in tragic scenes that walk the thin line between comedy and drama... like the day a woman leaves her husband for ever... or the day a mother is taken to an old age home not by her choice. The idea with full mask it to always remain before and to move beyond words. Well yes - because you mouth is covered. But, you have to earn the silence. That place where there is nothing more to say - because everything has been said. A moment in one of the scenes where a young soldier is leaving home for war... his mother places an apple in the pocket of his jacket, a random act of motherly kindness that makes you laugh and cry at the same time... as if he were going to boarding school and not war. But to do this is harder than one thinks... and terribly exciting if achieved. It is quite easy to fall into pantomime... which is... well... dreadful. So yes, whole pieces without a single word... where, with some - if not most - of the pieces, in the days that followed you really felt like you heard the dialogue, the sound effects, the music. The silence can be very very loud.
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| Vika, me and Barbara - the two daughters who force their mother to leave her house for ever. Oh the drama! |
We also visited the Tuscan town Lucca... our dear friend Lucy's last Italian day trip... possibly not for ever... but certainly for the next little while... I wish you well with your next adventure Lucy... you shall be truly and deeply missed. Your bright smile even when things are going wrong... Your positivity that things will work out... and they do! Your inoffensive bum pinching... Your openness to constantly tell people you love them... But mostly - your brilliant comic timing. Yes, you shall be missed... Beyond Words! x
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| Where we walked on the old city wall of Lucca... Lucy, Me and Nicole |
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| Vika on the old city wall |
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| Nicole and Vika pointing to the famous tower, Torre Guinigi, in the distance which boasts real trees... like a hat. |
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| From the tree'd tower... |
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| Sarah on top of the Torre Guinigi... |
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| Puccini's birth home |
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This one is especially for Lucy... Happiness Street!
Vika, Nicole, Lucy, Sarah and Freya |
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