Theatre of Shadows

For the past few decades what is probably the oldest art in the world has undergone extraordinary and startling changes in its possibilities for representation and expression. All traditional givens have dissolved: the light itself moves, players act in front of the screen and the Shadow now has a three-dimensional quality. Reflection, refraction and the disintegration of light into colours extend this unseen world of images.

However, The use of light in Shadow theatre is a science in itself, because shadow cannot exist without light, it is a “slave of the light.” Starting from this simple insight,  for about fourty years the “Theatre of Shadows” has focused on its most essential tool: the light itself. That is to say – whether it is a simple match, a light bulb or the sun  – each light source creates a different shadow.

But what is a “good shadow”, one that is able to create the images for the stories we want to tell? The answer: a shadow that remains defined even when the object casting it moves away from the screen. Here, the shadow becomes bigger but  it still shows fine detail: the hand or the face. And it is exactly this which creates a totally new and surprising way of telling stories.

We invite you to discover this world: to delve into and be enchanted by that which accompanies us daily at almost every step: that which we hardly notice; that which is, in truth, a thing of great beauty: the seemingly familiar yet mysterious phenomenon of the Shadow.