Description
THE BOOK OF SICILY
Book Summary
A rave in an abandoned village becomes the setting for a revealing encounter. A man and a woman attend the celebration, but everything changes when they run into a man who is the living memory of Gibellina, a Sicilian town devastated by an earthquake in 1968. This play explores how a body can contain the history of an entire place, the pilgrimage of a people who decide to rebuild elsewhere, and fertility rituals in a land that no longer bears fruit. A reflection on identity, displacement, and the Mediterranean we share.
What is it about?
The play begins in the context of a rave held in an abandoned village. There, a man and a woman meet a character who embodies the memory of Gibellina, a Sicilian town destroyed by an earthquake in 1968. This man is, in himself, an island: a repository of memories of a place that no longer exists physically. From this encounter, the plot unfolds to explore how an entire town migrates to rebuild itself elsewhere, and how bodies attempt to preserve the memory of what was lost. The play delves into a fertility rite in an infertile land, posing questions about what we can learn today from the history of Gibellina and what Mediterranean we share as a common heritage.
Main Themes
- Collective memory and its incarnation in the human body
- Natural disaster and the reconstruction of a people's identity
- Displacement and pilgrimage as a community experience
- Fertility rituals in contexts of loss and abandonment
- The Mediterranean as a shared space of stories and tragedies
Who is it recommended for?
This work is aimed at readers interested in contemporary theater that addresses social and historical issues from a poetic and symbolic perspective. It is also for those looking for theatrical texts that reflect on memory, displacement, and the capacity of communities for reconstruction. It is especially relevant for students and professionals of the performing arts, as well as for anyone interested in the history of Sicily and the Mediterranean.
What this book offers
- A theatrical and poetic look at a real historical event: the 1968 Gibellina earthquake
- A reflection on how the memory of a place can survive in the people who inhabited it
- An exploration of human rituals as a way of resisting oblivion and loss
- A short but dense work, ideal for stage productions or staged readings
Technical Details
- Author: FIDALGO LAREO, PABLO
- Publisher: INSTITUTO ARTES ESCENICAS Y MUSICA
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: PLAYS, THEATRICAL TEXTS
- Collection: THEATRICAL WORKS
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication Date: November 2021
- Number of pages: 60
- Weight: 260 g
Editorial Review
The Book of Sicily is a theatrical proposal that combines the power of a historical event with symbolic and evocative writing. In 60 pages, Pablo Fidalgo Lareo manages to condense a profound reflection on memory, inner exile, and the ability of peoples to reinvent themselves after a catastrophe. Its structure, which starts from a chance encounter at a rave, allows for the past and present to be connected organically. It is a work that will resonate with those looking for theater that is committed to reality, but also poetic and open to multiple interpretations.