Pinocchio ¹⁵⁺

Carlo Collodi / Matteo Spiazzi / 40 min

The story of Pinocchio is an incredible adventure that has been a source of excitement for many generations and is still alive today. Pinocchio is a metaphor for how mistakes can also shape man.

Mistakes aren't necessarily something bad; they are often the only way to teach us how to better understand and change our lives. As Italian writer Gianni Rodari once said, "Mistakes are necessary, beneficial as bread, and often beautiful, just look at the Tower of Pisa."

Pinocchio is not an ordinary performance. It is a performance that immerses itself in the puppetry world, immerses in the origin when the puppet is not yet an entirely manufactured and vivid object, but raw, rough material. In Pinocchio, the material is, of course, wood, a precious material that has accompanied humankind almost since the beginning. Wood, which barely promises to turn into something but with the help of the puppetry magic, we can see individual characters from the story, is joined by already made puppets inspired by old masters. In this adaptation, we return to the carpenter’s workshop where the carpenter’s tools revive, and pieces of wood on carpenter’s table become a world of its own. Pinocchio goes on a journey, and we on an exploration of puppetry approaches.

Gallery

Pinocchio <em>Photo: Boštjan Lah</em> — Pinocchio *Photo: Boštjan Lah*

Crew and cast

Director and visual designer Matteo Spiazzi

Performer Miha Bezeljak

Speech advisor Metka Damjan

Costume designer Mojca Bernjak

Puppet and set designer Primož Mihevc

Puppets painted by Darka Erdelji

Lighting technician Miljenko Knezoci

Premiere — 19. September 2019

Responses and Rewards

Wood into Flesh and Flesh into Wood. On Matteo Spiazzi's Pinocchio, EU Contemporary Puppetry Critical Platform

When craft becomes art, Puppet critique, Večer, Petra Vidali, 26. 9. 2019

Grand prix - glavna nagrada "Milan Čečuk" za najboljšo predstavo v celoti, 53. mednarodni festival lutkovnih gledališč PIF, Zagreb 2020.
Nagrada Mihi Bezeljaku za animacijo, 53. mednarodni festival lutkovnih gledališč PIF, Zagreb 2020.
Nagrada Matteu Spiazziju za likovno podobo, 53. mednarodni festival lutkovnih gledališč PIF, Zagreb 2020.
Grand prix - glavna nagrada za najboljšo predstavo v celoti, 23. mednarodni festival Zlata iskra, Kragujevac 2021.
Nagrada Mihi Bezeljaku za igro, 23. mednarodni festival Zlata iskra, Kragujevac 2021.
Nagrada Matteu Spiazziju za najboljšo režijo, 11. bienale lutkovnih ustavarjalcev Slovenije, Maribor 2021.
Nagrada Mihi Bezeljaku za igro in animacijo, 11. bienale lutkovnih ustvarjalcev Slovenije, Maribor 2021.
Award to Miha Bezeljak for acting and animation, 14th Katowice International Puppet Theater Festival, Poland, 2022.
Award to Matteo Spiazzi for best directing, 14th Katowice International Puppet Theater Festival, Poland, 2022.
Children's Jury Award, 14th International Festival of Puppet Theater Katowice, Poland, 2022.
Honorary diploma "for the nobility of the stage creation of the world", 14th International Festival of Puppet Theater Katowice, Poland, 2022.
Award for Best Direction, Da da Du International Festival in Trieste, Italy, 2023.
Award for Dramaturgy, Da da du international festival in Trieste, Italy, 2023.
Award for the multifaceted play Pinocchio to actor Miha Bezeljak, at the international festival Spectaculo Interesse, Ostrava, Czech Republic, 2023