Cinque giorni al porto 

Debut: Genoa, Politeama Genovese, 1 April 1969

Direction Luigi Squarzina
Assistant director  Gianni Fenzi
Set and costume Gianfranco Padovani
Music Sergio Liberovici
Production Teatro Stabile di Genova

Characters and performers

IN TURIN, 1923

Luigi Einaudi, professor of Economics and Industrial Legislation Claudio Sora
Piero Gobetti Giancarlo Zanetti 
A police inspector / student Mario Marchi 
Students men / students women Mara Baronti
Carla Bolelli
Gianpiero Bianchi
Alberto Carpanini
Gianni De Lellis
Edo Gari
Maurizio Manetti
Stefania Riccetti
Sebastiano Tringali

IN GENOA, 1900

Officials:

The prefect, Camillo Garroni Omero Antonutti 
Count Cioia, inspector of the ministry degli Interni Guido Lazzarini
Nicola Malnate, inspector of the port Maggiorino Porta
A public security delegate Mario Marchi

Politicians:

The honorable Pietro Chiesa, socialist Camillo Milli 
The honorable Leonida Bissolati, socialist, director of "Avanti!" Maurizio Manetti
The lawyer Antonio Pellegrini, republican Claudio D’Amelio

Workers:

Ludovico Calda, typographer Eros Pagni
Alessandro Buratti, hairdresser, secretary of the Chamber of Labor Edo Gari
Ricciotti Leoni, typographer, secretary of the Chamber of Labor Gianni De Lellis
The worker of the three pier Antonello Pischedda
The Catholic worker Vittorio Penco
Il carbunin Enrico Ardizzone
Il ferrà di Sampierdarena Piercarlo Beretta 
Il calafato Mario Faralli
The drunken worker Laerte Ottonelli
A child Adelmo Taddei 
A mountain man Gianpiero Bianchi
Delegates and workers of the various leagues: Mara Baronti
Gianpiero Bianchi
Alberto Carpanini
Sandro Dal Buono
Renato Fassone
Edo Gari
Giorgio Grassi
Andrea Montuschi
Maggiorino Porta
Sebastiano Tringali
The Venetian emigrant Carla Bolelli

The bourgeoisie:

The financier Daniele Chiapparino
The industrial Sandro Dal Buono
The general at rest Luigi Carubbi
The long-time captain Giorgio Grassi
The first lady Mara Baronti
The second lady Stefania Riccetti
The dandy Gianpiero Bianchi
The first confidant Mario Martini 
The second confidant Mario Marchi

Journalists:

Luigi Einaudi, "La Stampa" correspondent Claudio Sora
A journalist Alberto Carpanini

IN ROME, 1901

The honorable Giovanni Giolitti Guido Lazzarini
The honorable Sidney Sonnino Maggiorino Porta
The honorable Leonida Bissolati Maurizio Manetti
The honorable Pietro Chiesa Camillo Milli
The honorable Nicolò Fulci Luigi Carubbi
The honorable Edoardo Daneo Andrea Montuschi

Written with Vico Faggi in 1968, this work relates the events of the first general strike in an Italian city, Genoa, in 1900, protesting the closing of the Chamber of Labour. The production was part of the programme of historical-dialectical plays created by Squarzina for Genoa’s Teatro Stabile to deal with the main points of Italy’s history and the great ideological and political themes. For Squarzina, it marked a return to ideological and political commitment of the type seen in Romagnola. The text and the play are extraordinarily contemporary, because the years 1968-69 saw increasing workers’ struggles, general strikes and unrest.

The play’s point of reference is the document-theatre model, based on rich and thoroughly examined documentation. This does not diminish the spectacular elements, expressed in the innovative opening scene – that is, the narration entrusted to a college lecture by Luigi Einaudi in 1923 –, in the animation of the nude scene through the projection of period photos, and in the actors’ language integrating Genoese dialect.

The play enjoyed great success with Genoa’s dock workers, who saw only the premiere, and with critics and audiences throughout whole country during its long, two-year tour. It was honoured with the Premio Saint-Vincent.

… fu forse uno dei miei migliori spettacoli, vivacizzato dalla proiezione di foto d’epoca: fra l’altro, per la prima volta, feci vedere in un ingrandimento la pittura che poi in seguito è diventata molto nota, “Il quarto potere”, che è al comune di Milano”.

Luigi Squarzina

From E. Testoni, Dialoghi con Luigi Squarzina, Firenze, Le Lettere 2015, p. 186

 

 

 

We thank Teatro Nazionale di Genova for the concession of the use of photographic material.