Thursday 29th April, 2020 7.00pm (UK) 8.00pm (Italy)

Canto XIX – Inferno 

Crossing the bridge into the third bolgia, Virgil and Dante enter a landscape full of holes from which protrude the flaming, flailing legs of the Simonists. In life, these fraudulent ecclesiastics profited from the Church and its offices. Dante questions a pair of legs and discovers they belong to the Pope Nicholas III who mistakes him for Boniface VIII, the next pope destined to fall down that hole. According to the Simonist’s eloquent prophecy, Pope Clement V is third in line. Dante expresses his moral indignation in equally ornate language, Virgil rewards his progress by carrying him to the arch above the fourth bolgia.

A 2021 season of participative readings from The Divine Comedy

 in the middle of the journey of our life …

 Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita …

To celebrate Dante’s astonishing legacy and his poem’s enduring power and fascination, throughout 2021, Julia Holden together with acclaimed playwright Justin Butcher are curating a season of participative readings from The Divine Comedy assisted by a team of top UK theatre professionals.

During this 90 minute online event (hosted on the Zoom platform) the participating group will together read, share, and reflect on Canto XIX in its English translation. This will also include listening to the Canto read in Italian. Towards the later part of the session, with the help of the team of UK theatre professionals, the Canto will be read in English.

To participate online please email info@jproductions.it