Paolo Avataneo’s ‘!’ is a surreal visual solo comedy presenting characters in various styles like mime with music and noises, gibberish, body percussion, and eccentric buffoonish theatre. The show incorporates the local language wherever it is presented. The protagonist initially disturbed with the happenings of the world, a mischievous elf, and perturbed by the history’s silence, eventually finds a way to work involving bold neologisms, and trilling sounds which Paolo creates vocally without any tools. The play is a colourful fantasy with surprises galore, effluvia of nonsense, and abstract language, acting as ingredients of this slurpy vinaigrette.

Director

Paolo Avataneo is trained in Philip Radice’s physical theatre at the Atelier in Turin. He is a performance artist whose visual comedies are for both children and adults. His plays and workshops have been organized across the globe. He experiments with new methods of acting trying to make them comical and more accessible to everyone in different parts of the world. His productions incorporating styles like pantomime, buffoonery, cabaret, gibberish, and body percussion have been staged in various festivals across many countries like “The real story of the Radice’s family” and “The buffoons” in Italy; “Altered States” in Edinburgh Fringe Festival, UK; “Le Bouffon Attrappe Papillon” in Festival de theatre de rue d’ Aurillac, France; “Wow that geezers!” in Bulgaria; “Questa è spam?!” in Switzerland; “Scramble me but in a rococo style” in Estonia; in Strassen kunst festival Biberach, Germany he presented” Jukebox body percussion quiz;”; “Recycler Elf” in Peru; and “The Odyssey according my imaginary friend” in Germany to name a few. From 2013 Paolo is actively organizing visual comedy and body percussion workshops in Italy and abroad. He has organized numerous Children-centric theatre activities and workshops. He has regularly performed for television, and has acted in many films and web series produced in Italy.

Director’s Note

After my Graduation from the Philip Radice’s Physical Theatre Atelier, I have been presenting shows and conducting workshops for adults and children in styles like mime, cabaret, buffoon, clowning and eccentric theatre. I as a musician have played bass guitar for various rock bands and produced music albums, and have worked as an actor in Italian films and television. My main target is to experiment with new methods of acting, try to make them comical and accessible to everyone. I try to evolve different performative languages and for these reasons my productions reflect universal values and a timeless international approach.