The play tells the absurd and surreal story of a king who finds himself with a chicken lodged inside him, and the extraordinary measures taken to remove it. Set at the Théâtre de la Colline, perched on the heights of Paris’ Gambetta district, Re Chicchinella is directed by Emma Dante, a Sicilian director from Palermo. Her work draws inspiration from the Italian tales of Giambattista Basile (author of The Tale of Tales). Following on from La Scortecata and Pupo di Zucchero (both previously presented at La Colline), Re Chicchinella is a burlesque and satirical black comedy.
The premise is already both ridiculous and incongruous. During a hunting trip, the king attempts to relieve himself in a secluded corner, using the soft feathers of what he believes to be a dead hen. However, the hen is very much alive and, in a moment of absurdity, buries itself inside him. This is only the beginning of the king’s troubles, as his physical and symbolic presence at court is progressively diminished. In an even greater twist of absurdity, the king begins to lay golden eggs, a reference to the famous moral tale by La Fontaine (The Hen that Laid the Golden Eggs).
The satire’s humour is rooted in this bizarre situation, where the queen and the royal court’s greed for the king’s golden eggs outweighs any concern for his health and well-being. The king, reduced to a mere dispenser of wealth, is slowly consumed from within by the very chicken that inhabits him.
The set is strikingly minimal, with little more than a few chairs and props, focusing the attention on the physicality of the actors. The staging is carefully organized, with the performances themselves—particularly that of King Carmine Maringola—standing out as brilliantly executed.
The production skillfully blends two genres: the grotesque and the burlesque. The grotesque, originating in Italy, refers to exaggerated, often absurd ornamentation and facial expressions that evoke laughter. This is evident in the actors’ appearances, with their bizarre, over-the-top makeup and exaggerated, often partially nude physicality. The burlesque is evident in the choreography and slapstick humour, with actors colliding, falling, and creating comedic sound effects that heighten the absurdity of the situations.
This deliriously expressive theatre culminates in a tragic twist, providing a tonal shift that contrasts with the otherwise hilarious show. The result is a performance that places the audience’s jubilation at the very heart of its mise en scène.
French Summary
Re Chicchinella, mis en scène par Emma Dante au Théâtre de la Colline, raconte
l’histoire burlesque et absurde d’un roi ayant accidentellement une poule coincée dans
son postérieur. Tandis que cet étrange événement entraîne son humiliation et sa
déchéance à la cour, il se met à pondre des œufs d’or, devenant un objet d’avidité pour
la reine et son entourage. Cette comédie noire mêle grotesque et burlesque dans une
mise en scène minimaliste mais parfaitement chorégraphiée, centrée sur l’expressivité
des corps des acteurs, notamment celle de Carmine Maringola, remarquable dans le
rôle du roi. Ce théâtre expressif et délirant prend dans son ultime tronçon une tournure
tragique qui clôt avec une rupture tonale nette un spectacle drôle qui aura mis au centre
de sa mise en scène la jubilation du spectateur. Re Chicchinella
Grand Théâtre, La Colline, Paris
Until January 29th 2025
Duration: One hour.
Freely inspired by the Pentamerone (The Tale of Tales) from Giambattista Basile
text, scenography, costumes, direction Emma Dante
avec Angelica Bifano, Viola Carinci, Davide Celona, Roberto Galbo, Enrico
Lodovisi, Yannick Lomboto, Carmine Maringola, Davide Mazzella, Simone
Mazzella, Annamaria Palomba, Samuel Salamone, Stéphanie Taillandier, Marta Zollet
Photo credit : Foto delle prove © Masiar Pasquali. Courtesy Piccolo Teatro di Milano –
Teatro d’Europa
ph©MasiarPasquali