Compagnia Pippo Delbono
Creators: name: Delbono, Pippo
Publisher: name: DARIAH-DE
Year: 2023
Subjects: Pietra Ligure
Theatre Group
Italy

description: The director, author, and actor Pippo Delbono was born in 1959 in Varazze near Genoa. In the 1980s, he studied acting at a traditional drama school. Later, he met the Argentine actor Pepe Robledo from Libre Teatro Libre, a Latin American theatre group active in the 1970s that denounced the dictatorship in Argentina. Delbono and Robledo went together to Denmark, where they joined the Farfa group. There, the Italians began exploring a new language of theatre. Delbono studied Oriental Theatre and expanded his knowledge during subsequent trips to India, China, and Bali, where he focused on the impact of body and voice.
In 1986, he founded the Compagnia Pippo Delbono, whose members include actors, dancers, singers, street artists, individuals with disabilities, and people without permanent residence. Delbono’s first play, Il tempo degli assassini, premiered in 1987. In the same year, he met Pina Bausch, who invited him to work on one of her productions at the Wuppertal Tanztheater. This collaboration marked a significant milestone in the director’s artistic journey.
Il Muro, his first play in which actors and dancers performed together on stage, was staged in 1990. It won the Ubu Special Prize in 1997 and the Critics’ Prize the following year. The lead role was played by Bobò, a small and deaf actor whom Delbono met during a visit to a psychiatric institution near Naples, where Bobò had lived for 45 years. The director recognized Bobò’s talent, leading to a close and long-standing collaboration.
Delbono’s mission is to provide a stage for marginalized groups. However, he rejects the label “Teatro Sociale” (Social Theatre). Instead, he justifies his choice of actors solely based on their exceptional acting skills and abilities, emphasizing their ability to express the unique language he uses in his works. Furthermore, they embody his vision of “theatre,” which centres on the human being rather than specific characters, in contrast to acting schools that often teach clichés.
Delbono’s ensemble has succeeded both on Italian stages and internationally. In 2003, the Compagnia Pippo Delbono toured Palestine and Israel, performing the play Guerra. Delbono’s eponymous film debut won the David di Donatello Prize for Best Documentary in 2004. In the same year, Urlo premiered at the Avignon Festival, and Delbono’s second film, Grido, was screened at the Festa del Cinema in Rome. In addition to autobiographical themes, the director addresses growing intolerance towards immigrants in Italy in works like La Menzogna from 2008. In a related context, eight years later, he produced the film Vangelo in an Italian refugee camp. In 2009, Delbono’s third film, La Paura, was awarded the Boccalino d’Oro at the Festival di Locarno. In the same year, he received the Europe Prize for New Theatrical Realities. The short film Blue Sofa became the first Italian work to receive an award at the Festival du Court-Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand in 2010.
Pippo Delbono is a highly acclaimed and award-winning artist whose ensemble has performed in over 50 countries worldwide, marking a unique achievement in the history of Italian theatre. His latest production, La gioia, from 2018, was staged in India, Tunisia, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, Chile, France, Spain, and Belgium. Delbono’s productions have been featured at major theatre festivals on all continents, including four appearances at the Avignon Festival. Many of his plays were co-produced with international theatres and created in collaboration with renowned artists. 
Pippo Delbono and the Compagnia Pippo Delbono have been known for their inclusive approach to theatre, and they have actively involved individuals with disabilities in their performances. Delbono has collaborated with disabled and non-disabled performers, and his work often explores themes related to vulnerability, marginalization, and the human experience, including the experiences of individuals with disabilities.