Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Carlo Boso and his troupe, who are reinventing the commedia dell'arte with three exclusive performances in Tende

As he has done every year for the past 9 years, Carlo Boso has been accompanying his students from the International Academy of Performing Arts (AIDAS) on tour in Roya after performances at the Avignon Festival.

Carlo Boso is a great name in the theater and, more specifically, he is "the maestro" of commedia dell'arte. This popular theatrical genre, born in the 16th century, is based on the burlesque of situations and features stereotypical characters, with the aim of awakening intelligence and making us reflect on the society in which we are immersed. Carlo Boso is not only THE reference in this theatrical genre, which he strives to perpetuate, but he is also an author, director, and artistic director. He has participated in the production of around fifty theatrical works with the greatest directors. He has also directed numerous theater companies and was responsible for programming the Venice Carnival.

But AIDAS, based in Versailles, is his pride and joy. He is its founder and co-director with Danuta Zarazik. Created in 2004, the Academy is the cradle of future professional actors. Carlo Boso can pass on his knowledge and love of theater there because "it's something vital" for him.

A staging that challenges

The students, who are in their professional year, give more than 200 public performances. These performances are part of the educational program, which includes a multifaceted teaching of the performing arts: singing, dance, mime, and theater.

Carlo Boso enjoys revisiting the texts and staging of great classical plays to adapt them to our society, which, in fact, has hardly changed in the centuries that separate us from the plays written in Antiquity or the Middle Ages. The characters evolve in humor, burlesque, and sometimes clownish ways, to better capture the reflection. In the play Don Quixote, Rocinante, the hero's old horse, is freely replaced by a bicycle, Sancho Panza also rides a two-wheeler as the donkey Rucio. It doesn't matter whether it's a horse or a bicycle, whether it's a real or imaginary image, as long as the vision of life and human destiny are at the center of the reflection.

Don Quixote is one of the first modern novels and Carlo Boso wanted to play on social satire, the criticism of the structures that govern it, through a political analysis.

When Carlo adapted Aristophanes' play Peace, he highlighted the "militant pacifist discourse that has its limits." This ancient spirit remains relevant today. The "logics" of war are confronted with their contradictions by presenting them in comic and ridiculous scenes.

It is with the enthusiasm of youth, the passion for theatre and their professionalism that the AIDAS students, supervised by their master Carlo Boso, came for three performances in Tende before continuing their tour to La Brigue (with a faithful and always appreciated visit to the Ehpad), Saorge, Breil and La Turbie.

Every year, AIDAS brings a new breath of openness to culture for all to the Valley.

These performances are part of the Baroque Escapades offered free of charge by the Carf.