Margherita Vicario: "A dishonest show on the Flotilla, but people in the audience are standing up."

Describing the present. Describing what makes us angry, what makes us indignant. But doing it with lightness, with irony. Describing the contradictions we live in, the hypocrisies of society. But always doing it with a playful air: creating a theatrical monologue that feels like a game, or a song that feels like a nursery rhyme. This is what profoundly unites the art of Mattia Torre and that of Margherita Vicario .

Tonight and tomorrow, the first edition of the "Mattia Torre" award will be held in Viterbo at the Teatro dell'Unione. It celebrates the gentle yet profound art of Torre, a screenwriter and director who passed away too soon in 2019, after leaving behind a series of cult classics, from the "Boris" series to "La Linea Verticale." He will be honored with two evenings of readings and music. Seven monologues written by seven young authors who are finalists for the award will be read. The music will be provided by Margherita Vicario, who, as an acoustic trio, will perform pieces from her repertoire , linked to her relationship with Mattia Torre.

The two evenings will be hosted by Geppi Cucciari. Guests include many of Mattia Torre's friends and collaborators: Valerio Aprea, Giorgio Tirabassi—who will also perform, paying homage to Django Reinhardt—director Luca Vendruscolo, Pietro Sermonti, Valerio Mastandrea . And Margherita Vicario, winner of three David di Donatello Awards this year for her debut film, "Gloria!", a big surprise of the past season. It's inevitable, however, that we also talk to her about the present, about these hours of unfolding events.

What are your feelings, Margherita, about what is happening and what is still happening to the Flotilla in the waters off Gaza?

"The feeling, after the strikes, is that there are still many people who oppose this horrendous spectacle, already written, already planned, whose outcome was known. There is a sense of hope; after the large demonstrations around the world, something is moving. What remains, on the international stage, is a dishonest spectacle. But in the audience, people are standing up and opposing it."

Tonight you'll be performing in Viterbo in honor of Mattia Torre. What lesson does an author like Mattia offer us today?

"The first lesson is that an artist always lives in the present, is always connected to the present. Everything an artist puts out there concerns the world around him. And he never closed his eyes to the world, to what was happening."

How did you meet Mattia Torre?

I was in my early twenties, and through mutual friends, I became part of his 'extended family.' One evening, at dinner, I played him my songs. He encouraged me so much, and it was he who facilitated my debut: he took me to Serena Dandini, and in a way, celebrated my baptism. I never even imagined playing outside my bedroom.

You and he share a search for new, original forms. He wrote monologues; she writes songs that are almost monologues, but also very pop.

"Mattia created new theatrical 'objects'. He had a highly original voice, a very poetic, profound, and serious sense of humor. Mattia was a role model for many of us: trying to be as sincere as he was, and at the same time as comical, tragic, and poetic, was the best we could aspire to."

What is his legacy, in your opinion?

"Try to speak to everyone, to people of all political affiliations. Be interested in the world, in people."