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The Arsenale Past and Present The Arsenale Theatre is housed in an historic building in the heart of old Milan. The original building was the Church of Saint Simon and Giuda built in 1272, together with the nearby Convent of the Humbled. Trials took place here during the Inquisition. In the second part of the 16th century, following the end of the Order of the Humiliated, the building was turned into the Church del Collegio dei Taeggi and dei Calchi; in the 17th century both church and convent became the centre of the Literary Academy of the Incerti. In 1810 it ceased to be a Catholic church. From the beginning of the twentieth century and until 1975 the building housed an Evangelical Church. In 1975 it became known by its present name. Since 1978 it has been the home of the Arsenale Theatre Company which still operates there. Today company members include: Marina Spreafico, Annig Raimondi, Maria Eugenia D'Aquino, Riccardo Magherini, Fulvio Michelazzi, Valentina Colorni, Luca Fusi, Vladimir Todisco Grande. The Arsenale Theatre Company has produced a large number of plays and contributed to many music theatre shows. As well as a very specific interest in contemporary drama, the Company has always been interested in doing shows whose setting in one way or another was suited to the architecture of the venue. The theatre season at the Arsenale takes place alongside the busy schedule of the important Arsenale Drama Academy. |
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From the very start our policy was to develop the theatre company, the drama academy and a place for hosting productions. While these three strands are separate they are nonetheless linked by the group of people who work at the theatre; this group remains more or less the same. It might be said that basically each member is interested in the work of the other members and they all share a similar idea of what theatre is about. This means that the Arsenale is like a living individual constantly changing and varying; it changes, modifies but is always the same. It isn't so much the sequence of events connected to its history, nor is it the list of shows produced and invited, or the number of students attending the academy, but it's the body which has come into being that's important; it's our work in general that's worthwhile. And its worth does not seem insignificant to us. |
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