by InTrieste
After three decades apart, Italian actresses Anna Dego and Anna Stante are returning to the stage together in Il corpo del tempo (The Body of Time), a new theatrical work that examines the evolving relationship between the human body and the passage of time. The piece will be presented on April 22 and 23 at Sala Bartoli, hosted by the Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia as part of its “Scena contemporanea” season.
Blending elements of dance and theater, the performance invites the audience into a fragmented temporal landscape where memory, presence, and absence intersect. The body, the creators suggest, is not simply a vessel for time but the very space in which time becomes visible—simultaneously a keeper of memory and a witness to its erosion.
Dego, from Genoa, and Stante, from Turin, first began performing together early in their careers, shortly after completing their studies at their respective acting academies. Though their professional paths diverged, they reunited thirty years later while working with Lucia Bensasson, a former member of Théâtre du Soleil and founder of ARTA (Association de Recherche des Traditions de l’Acteur) in Paris.
That renewed connection led to a series of creative sessions in 2023, where the two women revisited shared memories and artistic impulses. The result is Il corpo del tempo, which they co-wrote and now perform as a two-woman piece.
The characters they portray have drawn comparisons to female versions of Beckett’s Vladimir and Estragon, though they are not waiting for anything or anyone. Instead, they appear as everyday tightrope walkers, navigating the delicate edge of a time that is no longer linear but splintered into fleeting moments.
Il corpo del tempo marks a rare artistic reunion that is both personal and universal—an exploration not only of time’s physical imprint but of the quiet, enduring ties that can span decades.
