The Two Look-Alikes (Li Due Simili)

This performance marks the culmination of a laboratory exploration of Commedia dell’Arte, the vibrant Italian Renaissance theater tradition that forms the foundation of modern comedy. Under the guidance of Chiara Durazzini - co-founder and artistic director of the Pazzi Lazzi Troupe and a specialist in Commedia dell’Arte - nine actors have trained in the techniques of this theatrical form and developed an improvisation based on a late 1500s scenario.

Chiara translated the scenario from Italian into English from the Corsiniana collection in Rome.

We chose it as the basis for this laboratory because its plot draws inspiration from Plautus’ Latin comedy The Menaechmi, later adapted by both William Shakespeare and Carlo Goldoni. It is one of the most enduring comic structures: the tale of two long‑lost brothers who, at last, find each other again.

Talk-back to follow.

Featuring: Francesca Barone, Alessia Dalsant, Andi Dudziak, Andi Flax, Elena Lori, Carmen Marsico, Matthew…