A COMPAGNIA BELLANDA PRODUCTION
CONCEPT, DIRECTION AND CHOREOGRAPHY: GIOVANNI LEONARDUZZI
DIRECTION ASSISTANT AND CHOREOGRAPHY: CLAUDIA LATINI
VOCAL COACH AND WRITER: ILARIA SANTOSTEFANO
SOUND DESIGN: MAURIZIO CECATTO
LIGHT DESIGN: ROGER IRMAN

ON THE MOTIONLESS NIGHTS OF THE KARST SUMMER, WHEN THE AIR SEEMS TO HOLD ITS BREATH, A SOUND CROSSES THE DARK: KEU… KEU… IT IS THE SCOPS OWL’S CALL, A SMALL NOCTURNAL BIRD THAT LIVES HIDDEN AMONG THE BRANCHES AND REVEALS ITSELF ONLY THROUGH ITS VOICE. A SIMPLE, REPEATED SOUND, ALMOST INSIGNIFICANT — YET CAPABLE OF BECOMING AN OMEN, A QUESTION, AN EXPECTATION.

IL CANTO DELL’ASSIOLO [THE SCOPS OWL’S SONG] ARISES FROM THAT IMAGE: A VOICE THAT PERSISTS IN THE NIGHT, LIKE A THOUGHT THAT CANNOT BE PUSHED AWAY.

THE PERFORMANCE IS A PHYSICAL, VISCERAL DUET THAT EXPLORES THE COMPLEXITY OF A LOVE RELATIONSHIP: THE SUBTLE LINE BETWEEN GUIDANCE AND CONTROL, BETWEEN TENDERNESS AND AGGRESSION. WHO IS TRULY LEADING? IS A GESTURE MORE VIOLENT THAN A WORD? CAN A CARESS CONTAIN FORCE? CAN A SENTENCE HURT MORE DEEPLY THAN A HAND?
THE CHOREOGRAPHIC RESEARCH IS ROOTED IN BREAKING — THE COMPANY’S ORIGINAL MATRIX — AND EVOLVES INTO A CONTEMPORARY LANGUAGE OF TIGHTLY TANGLED PARTNERING, POWER MOVES TRANSFORMED INTO EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, CONTORTIONS THAT GENERATE BOTH ATTRACTION AND REPULSION. THE BODY BECOMES ORNAMENT AND MEMORY: IT HOLDS RECOLLECTIONS, IT GATHERS SCARS. EVERY MOVEMENT IS A RITUAL, AND EVERY GESTURE A PRAYER.
THE AUTHORS ALSO BRING LANGUAGE TO THE STAGE. A LANGUAGE STRIPPED TO ITS ESSENCE, REPEATED, VARIED, ALMOST EMPTIED UNTIL IT BECOMES PURE SOUND. MELANCHOLIC LIKE THE SCOPS OWL’S CALL — NEITHER MELODIC NOR NARRATIVE, BUT INSISTENT AND MYSTERIOUS. A CONVERSATION THAT FALTERS, THAT LOOPS BACK ON ITSELF, WHERE SILENCE WEIGHS AS MUCH AS SOUND AND A SINGLE WORD CAN CHANGE MEANING ACCORDING TO ITS TONE.
MICROPHONES PLACED AT THE EDGES OF THE STAGE CAPTURE BREATHS, FOOTSTEPS, FRICTIONS, WHISPERS.

SOUND IS AMPLIFIED, DISTORTED, AND RETURNED AS ATMOSPHERE AND MEMORY. MOVEMENT GENERATES SOUND, SOUND ALTERS MOVEMENT IN A SELF-FEEDING CIRCUIT.
THE SPECTATOR IS IMMERSED IN A CINEMATIC, RAW AND INTIMATE DIMENSION: THE HEARTBEAT IS HEARD, SWEAT IS SEEN, FATIGUE IS FELT.
LIKE THE SCOPS OWL, THE PROTAGONISTS ARE CREATURES OF THE THRESHOLD: SUSPENDED BETWEEN WAKEFULNESS AND HALLUCINATION, BETWEEN LOVE AND RUPTURE, BETWEEN CHOICE AND DESTINY. THE QUESTION BECOMES CONCRETE AND BURNING: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SINGLE DECISION CRACKS THE BALANCE? WHAT IS THE COMPROMISE? WHO YIELDS AND WHO REMAINS?
THERE ARE NO DEFINITIVE ANSWERS. THERE ARE NO MONSTERS, EXCEPT THOSE THAT INHABIT RELATIONSHIPS.

RATHER, THERE IS AN EXERCISE IN RADICAL EMPATHY, AN ATTEMPT TO FEEL WITH THE OTHER, EVEN WHEN DIALOGUE BREAKS.
LIKE THE SMALL RAPTOR HIDDEN AMONG THE TREES, SINGING WITHOUT KNOWING WHO LISTENS, IL CANTO DELL’ASSIOLO OFFERS NO VERDICTS, BUT ANNOUNCES A PASSAGE. A SILENT CHANGE. A THRESHOLD.

AND IN THE DARKNESS OF THE STAGE, AS THE SOUND RETURNS OBSTINATELY, ONE QUESTION LINGERS IN SUSPENSION:
HOW MUCH CAN A SINGLE VOICE — OR A SINGLE WORD — CHANGE THE DESTINY OF TWO PEOPLE?

Compagnia Bellanda at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Il Canto dell'assiolo will be performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026, the world’s largest performing arts festival, which transforms the city into a vast open-air stage every year, featuring thousands of theatre, dance, music and performance shows, and welcoming emerging and established artists from all over the world.

FROM 18 TO 30 AUGUST 2026
AT 22A ASSEMBLY @ DANCE BASE – DB1 H 20:30

FOR ENQUIRIES, PRESS MATTERS OR BOOKINGS, PLEASE CONTACT OUR PR REPRESENTATIVE EMMA FERRIER:

EMMA FERRIER | ACT ONE PR
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE PRESS CONTACT
EMMA@ACTONEPR.COM