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.