To finish off the run of Alice in Wonderland posts I've got going on here, I'd like to present you with this gem........ images from "Alice in Wonderland, a Theatrical Essay on the End of a Civilization", which debuted this week, the most recent show by the inmate-theatre group Compagnia della Fortezza, out of Volterra Italy. The work is loosely based on Alice in Wonderland but includes soliloquies from other famous writers such as Shakespeare and Chekhov.
A friend sent me this article from The New York Times website, and before even realizing that these were convicts parading around in Wonderland-themed drag I was squirming with excitement. Only in Europe, I sighed to myself. It is stated that both prison and prisoners declined to say what they were in for, but around fifty are involved on a regular basis, both on stage and behind the scenes, and they take this opportunity very seriously (they are trusted with chainsaws and the like while building sets, and once while touring in 1995 several actors robbed banks in between shows and were "ostracized by fellow inmates" - as well as sentenced to more prison time).
In any case, the schematics and politics of this theater are extremely interesting, so I would read the article for that, but at the very least take a look at the slide show- the costumes are FABULOUS!
"Maximum Security and a Starring Role"
images: nytimes.com
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