MA LEI VUOLE FARE L’AVVOCATO O IL TEATRO D’AVANGUARDIA?
Private performance

Ma lei vuole fare l’avvocato o il teatro d’avanguardia? (But do you want to practice law, or avant-garde theatre?) is part of Perché gli artisti fanno le mostre e poi se ne vanno, Anna Franceschini’s five interventions scattered throughout the physical space of MACRO and expanded into the museum’s digital apparatus and outdoor spaces. The project is part of “Io poeto tu”, the exhibition dedicated to Simone Carella (1946 -2016) that inaugurated the POLYPHONY section.

In the years in which he spent time at the Dioniso Teatro, Simone Carella approached the context of the university. In 1968 he joined the group Gli Uccelli, famous for the historic sit-in at the steeple of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza. Students were in a state of great ferment at the time, as also seen in the Battle of Valle Giulia. 

Carella enrolled to study law, since he was unable to enter the Facoulty of Letters, having graduated from a scientific high school. We can say that his aim was to try to take part in a world, a collective dimension, more than his interest in the subject matter.

The only exam taken by Carella was Philosophy of Law. The professor’s negative assessment of his work granted the Roman theatre director a chance to better understand his own true passions. 

The performance Ma lei vuole fare l’avvocato o il teatro d’avanguardia? is an invitation to encounter a jurist, who at the end of the questioning, after sharing some thoughts on current events, puts the viewers with their backs to the wall by investigating their true interests: “Try this: decide whether you want to do avant-garde theatre or be a lawyer!”