Bringing to life the Golden Age of Commedia dell’ Arte with half masks, exquisite costumes and live music!
Get Your Coats On
Edinburgh Fringe 2024
British Theatre Guide
Edinburgh Fringe 2024
UK Theatre Web
Edinburgh Fringe 2024
The year is 1572. Queen Elizabeth I is on the throne. Shakespeare and the professional London stage are some years away but in Italy a new theatrical phenomenon is exploding: Commedia dell’ Arte. This combination of mask, comedy, amusing plots, actresses and improvisation took Europe by storm. Our play starts at the court of Queen Elizabeth who insists that her Master of Revels bring the Italian players to London to perform before her.
Performed with leather masks, exquisite costumes and live music, The Italians in England aims to bring to life the Golden Age of Commedia dell’ Arte in the story of Il Vecchio Geloso (The Jealous Old Man), adapted from an original canovaccio by Flaminio Scala. A young lover attempts to consummate his love for the wife of jealous husband, Pantalone. Servants and masters seek love too. Raw passion and reality collide in a clear but complex plot set in a country villa outside Venice – which includes a memorable lunch party invaded by wild boar.
The Wider Project
The Italians in England is a three year Commedia dell’Arte project led by Rupert Raison with professional actors who he has worked with over the years. The project is in commemoration of the great Arlecchino and physical theatre actor from Venice’s TAG company, Eugenio Allegri.
Phase One – Workshop Week and Performance, July 2023
In the summer of 2023, ten professional actors were invited to take part in the Action Theatre International Commedia Dell’ Arte Week: Training For Performance held from the 3rd to the 8th July to raise funds for the Eugenio Allegri video archive. The training was directed by Rupert Raison and resulted in a final open-air workshop performance of the play The Italians in England in Castiglione Torinese, Italy. The performance took place on Allegri’s 5 x 3m Commedia dell’ Arte trestle stage with Allegri’s original costumes and backdrop designed by Roberta Vacchetta and masks created by Franco Leita, Davide Belloni and Michael Chase.
Samuel Wright, George Mouskoundi, Giacomo Cremaschi, Edoardo Vanoni, Amerigo Calandri, Kuluk Helms, Simona Bisconti, Emanuelle Bains, Juliet Turnbull and Aimee Hislop presented a fresh, amusing show with a great energy. The audience response was terrific, showing that Commedia dell’ Arte can still interest a modern day audience.
Phase Two – Edinburgh Fringe Run, August 2024
From Turin to Edinburgh – Commedia at the Fringe! The company rejoined us in Turin for two weeks to rehearse an updated version of the play The Italians in England, working in detail on choreography, original musical number, set pieces, mask, lazzi, comedy and ensemble work from the 15th to 28th July 2025. The cast remained the same apart from the addition of Ina Lark, who replaced Emanuelle Bains in the role of Isabella. The show was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from the 2nd to the 24th of August 2024 to great acclaim from both critics and audience members who left reviews afterwards.
Photos by Jeremy Raison and Dario Martinez
Phase Three – 2025 and beyond
The company will be returning from the 5th to the 13th of July 2025, one year after their success at the Edinburgh Fringe, to present The Italians in England in Turin and work on a new full-length play which will be presented at the end of the rehearsal period.
In February 2026, The Italians in England will commence a European tour, opening at the Venetian Carnival and continuing to tour theatres and castles around Italy before heading to Europe. Alongside the show, we will be offering a talk and workshop on Commedia dell’ Arte. If you would like to collaborate with us, please do contact us at infoactiontheatre@gmail.com.
The Company
Rupert Raison is a writer, director and artistic director of Action Theatre (Italy). He is a leading expert in the field of English Teaching Theatre and with over 50 titles to his name he has created a host of unique comedy characters. Originally from London, England, Rupert studied at Jacques Lecoq in Paris for two years and then moved to Italy to work in physical theatre where he founded the Dizziacs Theatre Company and subsequently Action Theatre to teach English to Italian students.
Rupert developed an interest in Commedia dell’Arte during his Italian studies at Bristol University and wrote his dissertation on Goldoni, Gozzi and the end of the Commedia dell’ Arte. He went on to study at L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq and took Commedia dell’Arte courses with Eugenio Allegri, Antonio Fava and Stefano Perocco. He has taught Commedia in theatre schools in the UK and England and has written on Commedia dell’Arte for the publication Speech & Drama.
Rupert toured England in the summer of 1984 with the Gelati Commedia dell’ Arte company directed by well-known director Jamie Macdonald. He has also been lucky to have worked with an outstanding mask maker and dear friend Franco Leita, spending many hours working together on the features of the main Commedia masks which Franco would then create in leather.
In March and June 2024, Rupert directed a Commedia dell’ Arte piece for The Performing Arts University of Turin founded by Philip Radice.
Turin’s Action Theatre, led by Lecoq-trained Rupert Raison, is one of Europe’s leading half mask companies using half mask, puppetry and physical theatre to entertain and teach English to approximately 1 million Italian students over the last 25 years.
Reviews
Professional Reviews
“The actors blast through with gusto, and it’s difficult not to be carried away by the Italian charm.”
UK Theatre Web
“There is an infectious full-on commitment from a very together troupe.
A thoroughly entertaining story-show that captures and holds its audience with its lively performances and skilled combination of pantomime set pieces, clownish comedy and fast paced dialogue and narrative.”
Fringe Review
“The direction is uncannily superb as even something as simple/complicated as heads turning back and forth in rapid and orchestrated succession repeatedly bring the house down in laughter.”
TheatreEddys
“From an abused fool to a cowardly captain to the rich cuckold, all of the elements of Italian commedia dell’arte are here, and performed perfectly and exuberantly. The bawdy jokes, broad humor, and ribald plot form a perfect blend.”
https://fringefan.com/
Audience reviews
“This was just brilliant! Hilarious performances all around, fun plot, great masks and costumes, and a fantastic cast.”
George, audience member
“This is a fantastic show. So educational about Commedia and full of fantastic performances across the ensemble.”
Ronan, audience member
“A profoundly comic experience delivered with great skill and real panache!”
Stephen, audience member
“The energy of the cast was electric with brilliant performances across the board. Very funny throughout and with some lovely self-accompanied music to tie the absurd hilarity all together. The best Commedia dell’ Arte troupe I have ever seen.”
Samuel, audience member
“An absolutely fabulous show with gorgeous masks, absurd comedic acting, and great singing. High-energy and engaging throughout, with a super talented bunch of performers that had my sides splitting!”
Steffan, audience member
“It offers a unique insight into what Commedia Dell’ Arte must have been like. The Italians in England is bawdy, cleverly staged, fast-paced, anarchic, hilarious and musical – and makes some of the best use of half mask I’ve ever seen.”
Jay, audience member
Contact Us
If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to get in touch!
For future collaboration inquiries, please contact us at: infoactiontheatre@gmail.com
