REMEMBERING GUERRIERI

Today in Rome a celebratory event is being held in honour of Gerardo Guerrieri, my sister Anne's late husband, dear brother-in-law and friend. The announcements about the event feature a portrait I painted of him way back in 1959 when he and Anne came to visit me and Reg in Paraguay. You may remember I've written about all of this before, here and in my online autobio. Gerardo died, tragically, in Rome in April 1986, on the same day as the Chernobyl disaster.

I've just translated the press release about this event and here it is:

The Teatro Basilica in Rome opens its beautiful premises on the 25th October to an unusual presentation, bringing to life a portrait of Gerardo Guerrieri.

Readings, performances, images, stories, divided into twelve scenes, will re-enact the presence - sometimes public, sometimes hidden - of a man of the theatre who moved for over forty years on the principal crossroads of Italian culture, observing the scene with intense and fertile attention.

The audience at this rewarding day (from 11am to 9pm) will be able to participate in the unfolding of its diverse stories. In the multi-faceted work of Guerrieri, as director, scriptwriter, historian, translator, instigator of international collaborations and inimitable reporter and narrator, there appear legendary figures such as Eleanora Duse, Visconti, Chekov, Stanislawski for example along with the adventurous innovations of the Living Theatre, Bob Wilson and Peter Brook among many others. The day is conducted by Stefano Geraci and Antonio Calenda. With them to animate the scenes, there will be stories and memories from (Marco De Marinis, Stefano Locatelli, Selene Guerrieri, Fausto Malcovati, Laura Mariani, Ferruccio Marotti). Also from young students(Emanuela Bauco, Tiziano Di Muzio, Marta Marinelli) actors close to Guerrieri (Mariano Rigillo e Ulderico Pesce), the director who created an important documentary on Guerrieri (Fabio Segatori) and the actors (Gruppo della Creta) who, directed by Alessandro Di Murro will performe writings by Guerrieri selected for each scene. Finally, photographs by the great phtographer and friend of Guerrieri, Tommaso Le Pera.