text Mila Montagni
A villa for Machiavelli
Francesco Brandi inaugurates the Renaissance experience...in English
He arrived from Naples when he was 12 and grew up with a love of theater. He began working with the glorious Teatro di Rifredi, where he had his debut in 2000 as stage director with Assemblea Condominiale.
Where did the idea for the Florence Live Theater project come from?
As a Florentine and play director I have always thought that foreigners too should have the opportunity to get to know Italy’s Renaissance theater works.
Are architecture, sculpture and painting not sufficient?
This is exactly the point. They should learn about Italy also through its theater. So the actors I chose are Italian but they act in contemporary yet formally impeccable English.
Why is Mandragola the first play?
Because Machiavelli portrays the people of Florence, his contemporaries, with irony and precision. They are the same citizens who lived in the Florence of the Medici and of the Republic.
But a villa near Arcetri is the setting of your Florence, isn’t it?
Yes, we were very lucky to meet someone like the owner of Villa Le Piazzole, who has allowed us to use many of its rooms to better stage our play.
Why did you chose to come back to Florence?
Because it’s a vibrant, international city where cultural challenges and structural innovations are welcome. It has changed significantly since 2000, when it seemed self-centered.
So what are three places that represent “your” Florence?
The magnificent Loggia dell’Orcagna, my Teatro di Rifredi and the former boarding school La Querce, today unfortunately closed.
