Laboratorio Viva is an intergenerational workshop aimed at passing on historical and democratic memory through theatre, involving secondary school students and older people.
The project stems from the research and creative process behind our show Viva, which tells the true stories of the First and Second World Wars as experienced by the grandparents of the actress Giulia Esposito. These are stories of unsung heroes and heroines, the kind found in every war, yet absent from history books.
Following the emotional and enthusiastic reception the show has received throughout its run, we have realised that many people have family stories similar to those told in the play and feel the need to share them, regardless of the country in which the show is performed, and that younger generations have no direct knowledge of these subjects.
The workshop covers the historical period of the Spanish Civil War and the post-war era, recreating the oral storytelling relationship between grandfather and grandchild, with the aim of passing on memories of the war through accounts of real events.
In order to come to terms with the past, it must be possible to narrate it. Dialogue between generations and the transmission of memory are also fundamental to understanding that individual decisions are both causes and effects of historical events.
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