Johan Padan a la Descovèrta de le Americhe by Dario Fo and Franca Rame

On Saturday, March 7 at 5:30 pm, in the Sala Ildebrando of the Abbadia Isola monumental complex, the Compagnia Teatrale Fo Rame brings to the stage Johan Padan a la Descovèrta de le Americas by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, as interpreted by Mario Pirovano. 
Written in 1992, some 500 years after the discovery of America, the text is an ironic and corrosive counter-narrative of the European colonial enterprise.

The work stems from Pope John Paul II’s appeal in Santo Domingo and recovers the forgotten accounts of chroniclers such as Guerrero, Altavilla, Cabeza de Vaca and Hans Staden. Fo thus constructs the other story—not that of the conquistadors but of the “nullagonisti”, being the last of the crew, European sailors who find themselves on the side of the conquered.

The protagonist is Johan Padan, a mountain man from Bergamo fleeing the Inquisition who embarks with Christopher Columbus to the Indies (now Florida). 
Captured by the indigenous peoples, he becomes a shaman and helps them resist the violence of the conquistadors, transforming the adventure into an epic of encounter and coexistence.

Pirovano’s intense and visionary narration evokes hurricanes, shipwrecks, talking animals and battles with the sheer force of storytelling, alternating between comedy and emotion. Memorable happenings include a shipwreck with pigs, the discovery of the hammock, the taming of a horse “Bergamo style,” and the battles against the invaders.

An animated film directed by Giulio Cingoli was created from the text in 2002. An actor and historical interpreter of Fo’s work, Pirovano has presented his monologues for years in Italy and around the world, becoming his artistic legacy.

Admission costs €15 and includes a buffet and drink at the Archaeological Museum’s BarMaM. 
Reservations are required by calling +39 0577 1794759 or emailing info.contessaava@gmail.com.