Contra Gigantes. Narrazione per attore solo e complici spettatori

Why, despite winning half of the battles he faces as a knight-errant, has Don Quixote become ingrained in our imagination as a mad old man doomed to defeat? In Cervantes’ novel, he is neither a victor nor entirely a loser. Most of his struggles are not driven by madness but by injustice, which he chooses to confront personally, putting his own body at stake. Thus, a windmill, a symbol of technological progress meant to ease the burdens of Manchegan farmers, becomes instead a Briareus, an overpowering giant with a hundred arms. And so, following Cervantes’ own insight, in this narrative, the ruthless giants of the past will reveal the unchanged giants of today. From the darkness of a century ruled by a violent absolutist monarchy and an Inquisition that twisted Christ’s message of mercy and tenderness into an inhuman machine of oppression and torture, Quixote shines with a light that this book seeks to celebrate, offering a perspective that carries a certain freshness.