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 …

700 years on from Dante’s death, his epic narrative poem The Divine Comedy continues to grip the imagination of countless artists, composers, film-makers, writers and academics across the world. Translated into more than one hundred languages, The Divine Comedy stand alongside the Bible and the works of Homer and Shakespeare as one of the ultimate pillars of literary creation in human history.

To celebrate Dante’s astonishing legacy and his poem’s enduring power and fascination, Milan theatre producer Julia Holden is curating a season of participative readings from The Divine Comedy throughout 2021, in collaboration with award-winning playwright Justin Butcher and a team of top UK theatre professionals.

Canto 33 – Inferno

Summary 

The poets witness the gruesome spectacle of the Ghilibelline Count Ugolino della Gherardesca gnawing at the skull of his former collaborator, Archbishop Ruggieri. He stops in the middle of his gory repast to tell the story of his incarceration and murder along with that of his innocent children. The travellers venture into Ptolomaea, the third division of the Cocytus, where dwell those who betrayed guests and associates. Any tears shed here freeze and lock the eyes in a fixed stare. Friar Alberigo agrees to talk if the icy layer is removed. He declares his soul and that of another to be dead but their bodies to be ‘alive’ on Earth and possessed by demons. Dante breaks his promise.

To find out more, and to book your place, info@JProductions.it