THE SENTIMENTAL ZOO: meeting the Ariette living and almost living animals

by Paola Berselli & Stefano Pasquini

with Paola Berselli, Maurizio Ferraresi, Gregorio Fiorentini,
Stefano Pasquini, Claudio Ponzana

directed by Stefano Pasquini

TEATRO DELLE ARIETTE - 2007

The Ariette is a farm on the hills in the Marzatore valley, near the small town named Castello di Serravalle (Bologna).
The sentimental zoo is a camp where men and women and animals live together in the rhythm of daily life, witnessing the strict relationship which unifies the destinies of all the Ariette living creatures.
The Ariette people take care of primary needs: eat, drink, sleep, find a home, in a word, they take care about life.
It is a small community where humans and animal have the same dignity; a wandering open circus that welcomes those who wants to know its inhabitants and their histories.
The sentimental zoo is inspired by the desire of sharing the pleasure of travelling and its discoveries with our animals, besides daily life.

The Sentimental Zoo is made of:

the Ariette living animals. Botto (the dog), Luna (the pony horse) Checco and Lina (the ram and the sheep), geese, hens, rabbits. They are the animal that live with us in summer and winter, with rain or sun, in riches and in poverty, in sickness and in health until death (fox) do us part.
The puppets Circus. There are animal-puppets that Maurizio found his sons’ old toys boxes. Now, that they do not want them any more, he has started playing with them.
The almost living animals: they are so out of fashion and so politically uncorrect that nobody wants them anymore. Originally, they had been killed and stuffed to be proudly shown, but now we have found them lying as garbage, or forgotten in cellars and attics. We took them, restored them and now they travel with us. You if look at them carefully, they can still surprise you and scare you…..
Picture gallery. An exhibition of pictures of all the animals we had. We see some of them younger. Some others have gone. Some pictures show them with us. We look younger too. There also other humans in those images, and some of them have gone, as well.
Other stories… all the lives, real, almost real, imaginary or myths of animals that live in our memories and only exist in stories, fairy tales, jokes. Sudden appearances defining the limits of every listener’s imagination.
The caravan: the house for humans.