Directed by Grace Oliver & Camilla Wilson
Written in 1967, just before the watershed year of student revolt, La segretaria is Natalia Ginzburg’s fourth play. Even more clearly than in the previous ones, it deals with the state of the ‘new’ Italian family, its few strengths and many weaknesses. “Gone are the days when families were closed shells” laments the only mother in the play, and gone are also the days of proper jobs, understandable duties and distinct pecking orders.
While most Italian playwrights are first and foremost great actors and directors, Ginzburg was already a well-known novelist when she started to write for the theatre in 1965. Her plays were composed for the actresses who would interpret the leading role.
Ginzburg’s plays are still performed in Italy and abroad, with Luchino Visconti and Lawrence Olivier amongst the earliest directors. Their original and witty use of language fosters a disenchanted reflection on group and individual contradictions and vulnerability.
Organized by Luana Babini & Mara Mari Kirkwood (Edinburgh University).
In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute, Edinburgh
Tickets : £6. To reserve email: italianplay14@gmail.com
Performed in Italian and English by students at Edinburgh University
Tickets : £6 – £5 (students)