Irene Vecchia | Pulcinella - traditional puppet show

Pulcinella - traditional puppet show

Pulcinella traditional puppet show: Guarattelle
performed by Irene Vecchia

Pulcinella is one of the most famous character and mask in the world, and has brothers and cousins all around the world especially in Europe, these are: Mr.Punch and Judy tradition in England, Polichinelle in France, Petruska in Russia, Don Crisotbal in Spain, Jan Klassen in Holland, Kaspar in Germany, and Vitez Laszlo in Hungary , Dom Roberto in Portugal.

The Guarattelle Shows are the Neapolitan traditional glove puppets shows. This kind of puppet show is a popular tradition orally handed down from more than 500 years. Main character and soul of the stories is Pulcinella, who, singing to his beloved Teresina, clashes with the \"Guappo\" the bossy one, or a monstrous dog, or the death. Through the fight, rhythmic and musical, Pulcinella relives every time in the show that represents, without so many words, the emotions of the human life in which everyone of us could recognize.

The Guarattelle Show is like a music, in which the movements are the rhythm and the words are the harmony.

Pulcinella’s voice is funny, sounds like chicken, attracts the attention of the audience and enchants the spectators, articulating the narrative sequence. An ancient voice that crosses who is animated by Pulcinella and for this move him, a small technical expedient, a secret foolishness that hands down a wisdom of interpretation. Over the gender, the time and the place, Pulcinella is so immediately recognizable by his voice, as an old friend, but with something more than a human being as we are.

\"The audience at the end of my shows often stays amazed to see coming out of the booth a woman and moreover so tiny” This denies the prejudice on the role of the puppeteer, and it gratifies more still having assisted to an energetic, rhythmic and traditional show.

Irene Vecchia starts puppetry in the 2000, learning from neapolitan school of guarattelle, learns the basic grammar of Pulcinella’s tradition. She develops by her way Pulcinella’s stories, researching and creating other shows.