Journey into the Unknown. Romeo Castellucci's Theatre of Signs

Fundamental doubts on the nature of representation constitute the essential theme of the work of Romeo Castellucci, the co-founder of the Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio. The paper analyses how, through very specific scenic devices, Castellucci confronts spectators not only with the power of theater but also with its tremendous darkness. Exposed to violent attacks on the senses, the spectator is forced to see beyond the image and to think the unthinkable. The paper argues that what constitutes the key elements of such a theatre is what Deleuze, and before him Artaud and Proust, called “signs.” Signs testify to the power of nature and spirit, working at a deeper level than words, gestures, characters, or represented actions.