Written, directed and performed by Monia Baldini
Devising consultant Giovanni Fusetti
Produced by Giuseppina Di Gesaro & KanterStrasse
Poster Jonny Woolley
Photographer Lorna Milburn
Genre: Monologue/Physical Commedy/Clown
Running Time: 1h
Year of production 2022
Winner of the Award 2022 SoHo Playhouse-
Fringe Encore Series (NYC, USA)
Be My Guest is an interactive, metatheatrical, comedy show where Monia, the author, the only performer on stage, plays six characters. The worlds of clown, bouffon, tragedy, improvisation, cabaret and physical comedy are combined magically in the space of an hour. Through a witty vivisection of her persona Monia has made a brave and revolutionary piece of theater that shows and explores ways to empower human fragility. Themes are hot and hurgent: poverty, failure, isolation, dreams and taboo. Language is bold and satirical. Audience is constantly, through the lightness of the game, driven to be part of this passionate journey.
⭐⭐⭐⭐Broadway World
Baldini ticks an array of random boxes I didn’t even know existed in the theatrical world. It is raw and original. I came out feeling more connected to myself and the people around me and that is certainly impressive in itself.
⭐⭐⭐⭐Instafest Review
Insane, intense, incredible!
RACCOMENDED SHOW Fringe Review
Always intriguing, Baldini never pushes us away with her ready humour and she reads the room effectively. Interacting with the audience can be challenging to a performer and Baldini finds the right tone and way of inviting interactions. Baldini is a refreshingly creative and resourceful performer with entertaining stories and characters, all infused with her rapid fire wit.
In Be My Guest there is only one body on stage and nothing else, no objects, no music, no change of costumes. There are six characters, the author’s guests, looking for the perfect show that can meet their desires, that can accomplish all of their dreams.
Dramatis personae:
the Hostess, the Tragic Actress, The Artist, Venus, Shelion and Me.
At the doorstep, in the stalls, waiting for the arrival of her guests, we meet the charming and shameless Nina Divina, the hostess maitresse of the show. Using her sophisticated and unpredictable sense of humour encourages the audience to enter in the shared and participative atmosphere of the show.
Now, there on the stage, the arrival of all the other guests, the pushes of the creation inside the author that materialise themselves in six different roles or masks; each with their own physicality, voice, gestures, motivations and contents.
The Tragic Actress, deeply connected with the Muses of Greek Theatre, searching endlessly for tragic catharsis, dying multiple times in the most dramatic ways.
We meet Venus that needs to be loved desperately by the audience and has to seduce them to make sure they do.
There is also an Artist who wants to make art that is universal and relevant but sometimes she takes herself too seriously.
Then we meet SheLion, a wild and untamed creature that is there to empower the inner beasts inside each audience member and helps them to reconnect with their instinctual nature.
In a private little corner there is also Me, a naive creature who wants to tell the story of the author with all the struggle to work in the theatre system, the difficulties to make money, to be an artist mum and to be just one human and fragile person.
The work begins from an autobiographical dimension, talks about failure, success and the condition of the artist in our society.
The Hostess Ladies and Gentlemen and everyone in between…
The Artist Are you following this? Is this making sense to you?
Venus This is not the right question, the question is are you loving it?
Shelion Do you feel more free?
Tragic actress Is it tragic enough?
Me Do you want to hear my story?
Inside this absurd and meta-theatrical situation, where the fourth wall is knocked down and rebuilt several times, this tourbillon of characters and archetypes let us enter in the story and in the world of the author. The author, never seen but behind everything, using the weaknesses, and vulnerabilities of the characters will tell the story and will perform a cathartic ritual, with and in front, of the audience.
The Artist to the audience: «Sorry my phone is ringing. It’s my mum. She calls me because there is a job application to be a ticket inspector for Trenitalia, Italian railways.(...) “Mamma, I've told you many times I’m making my show! A tragic show, a ritual that speaks about me, something that you’d love where I could free my body and that would make sense where I could have been recognised as an artist!”»
The audience, also full of guests and always involved since nothing is private, plays, takes part in the process, creates and changes, their presence is a fundamental component of the show. They’re progressively more and more involved in this absurd meta-theatrical adventure that ends in a cathartic and shared collective ritual.
The creative Process
The acting techniques I use in this show belong to the universe of physical theatre and clowning. The script of the show has been made starting from improvisation and developed in a fixed canovaccio that leaves a bit of space to fill with the improvisation and the audience responses.
Be My Guest has been developed since May 2021 and has been part of a series od creative devising workshops led by Giovanni Fusetti of Helikos School in Padova. The creation of the show was supported by Regione Toscana (IT) during a creative residency hosted by KanterStrasse company in Terranuova Bracciolini (Arezzo, IT) at the beginning of 2022.
The show is available in English and in Italian.
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I loved it. So much life, so much humor, so much ferocity.
I think that the show will have a beautiful future.
Shea Wojtus
Honestly it was the best show! I must admit I wasn’t sure how it would be to do a one person show with several characters.
But Monia kept the audience completely enraptured.
She totally smashed it!
Nettie Hall
The show has awakened the beast inside me
and now she doesn’t want to go back.
Martina Bartolozzi
Hilariously self aware artist. Audience participation is easy going and Monia made the whole audience feel comfortable, even those who came late! Explores different aspects of self in an incredibly relatable way whilst staying upbeat. She truly is a clown and introduced me to clowning in a way I’d never imagined
Fiz Winters
Be My Guest is currently touring .
Visit the section touring to find out if the show is coming near you or write to moniapipipi@gmail.com to request more info about the show.