Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2009

Photo by Luca Del Pia

One of the most intriguing—and psychedelic—offerings in the ongoing Festival/Tokyo program promises to be this work by Italian director Romeo Castellucci. The second in a trilogy of pieces inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, Purgatorio brings the action into the private sphere, with the holy trinity symbolized as stars gazing down variously on a kitchen or living room, in which an unhappy family—dragged down by its daily drudgery and private sins—seeks redemption. In tandem with the staging of Purgatorio, the final piece in the trilogy, Paradiso, takes the form of an installation at Festival/Tokyo’s Nishi-Sugamo Arts Factory base.

Inferno/Purgatorio/Paradiso
Trilogy of performances based on Dante’s classic, as reinterpreted by Italian artist Romeo Castellucci. Inferno: Dec 11-13, various times, ¥3,000 (student)/¥5,000 (A)/¥6,500 (S). Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space, Ikebukuro; Purgatorio: Dec 19-21, various times, ¥6,500. Setagaya Public Theatre; Paradiso: Dec 17-21, various times, ¥500. Nishi-Sugamo Sozo-sha; Trilogy set ¥12,000. Tel: 03-5961-5209.