Il Progetto di Bach e Mozart was premiered in Italy, where it played to packed audiences and received rave revues:

'The Bach and Mozart Project reaches right into our hearts and minds, touching us with a light caress and involving us in a crescendo of emotion … a deeply moving metaphor for life.'

Rosita Spinozzi , Il Resto del Carlino

'a performance where despair, rebellion and liberation weave themselves into a new language to express the human condition'

Guiseppe Pignataro, L’Unità

' The sense of departure is remarkable...Through very brief scenes we immediately understand that the two men are mad: each repeats the words of the other and together they live through the exasperations of their project... The final scene is spectacular and deeply gratifying for the audience.'

Franco Cordelli, Corriere della sera

Background to The ’Project

Adriano Vianello’s play Il Progetto di Bach e Mozart was written in 1997 – in which year it was a finalist in the Premio IDI – the most prestigious dramaturgical competition in Italy.

In 2003, Vianello worked in collaboration with theatre director Donatella Massimilla (C.E.T.E.C) beginning a theatrical adventure which has become integral to their combined artistic development, and an expanding range of other artists in theatres and prisons in Italy and Europe.

After watching Massimilla’s production of Il Progetto di Bach e Mozart in Italy, Escape Artists commissioned a translation of the piece, which will tour institutions and theatres throughout 2006-2007.

The Bach & Mozart Project

to visit the heavens,

to touch the stars,

to be myself

MOZART

If I remember correctly, you were saying that our project consisted of the miracle of transcendence.

BACH

Indeed. Miracle because science and logic deny that it could happen … Transcendence because each one of us wants to become something other than themselves.

The Bach & Mozart Project is the luminous story of two inmates in an anonymous institution, attempting to transform their lives. Bach and Mozart are trying to live up to their names – a desperate creative struggle on the thin line between genius and madness.

The Bach & Mozart Project is a fast-paced, emotionally powerful and intellectually vibrant piece of theatre performed with tremendous physical commitment and intensity of spirit by two actors, a dancer and a musician (providing live harpsichord renditions of J.S Bach & W.A. Mozart and ). An ultimately uplifting experience, the piece delves intelligently into the heart of what it means to create something from nothing, as Bach and Mozart master the will to free themselves and each other.

Duration: 75 minutes

Performers: 2 actors,

1 dancer, 1 musician

Every performance can include an informal post-show discussion with the cast and crew.

A participatory Drama workshop derived from the piece –Transformation- is also available (more details here).