Believing in Masks

Romeo Castellucci returns to Transart with Believing in Masks, a creation that premiered at FOG – Performing Arts at Triennale Milano. An immersive, wordless experience, unfolding a lexicon of images, silences, and masks, centered on the responsibility of the gaze.

An empty, aseptic room. At the entrance, each member of the public receives a mask. Putting it on means shedding one’s identity and joining a transient community of anonymous faces. Within this shared anonymity, the observer becomes the observed, enveloped in a silence heavy with tension. At the centre, an isolated chair – a mute symbol of violence and power – commands attention: an object steeped in a long history drawing on both art and death. The theatrical illusion shatters, and with it, the comforting divide between stage and audience. Presented at the Triennale Milano, Credere alle Maschere [Believing the Masks] reflects the radical vision of Romeo Castellucci, a pivotal figure in contemporary European theatre. It is an experience that offers no sanctuary, compelling participants to confront the accountability of their own gaze. No answers are provided, for nothing but persistent questions linger, challenging the viewer.

Recommended for ages 14+.