This adaptation of the most famous comedy of Carlo Goldoni is performed in Italian and English. Goldoni’s lines alternate with English phrases reminiscent of Shakespeare’s comedies. The script is playfully bilingual and speakers of either language can easily follow the story in this fast and furious comedy. The traditional Venetian masks of the Commedia dell’Arte will make you roar with laughter as they speak an improbable English leading to comic misunderstandings and crazy antics.
The Servant of Two Masters has been part of Bottegavaga’s repertoire since 2007. In this new version we have kept the metatheatrical play and the use of masks to forge a synthesis between tradition and innovation. The result is a devilishly fast-paced show, filled with the twists and turns, disguises and duplicity of Goldoni’s original masterpiece.
Performed by
Betty Andriolo, Vanni Carpenedo, Christian Renzicchi
Directed by
Alberta Toninato
Performed in English and Italian
Running time
60 minutes
Recommended age
Children 6 years and above, young people and adults
Technical requirements
Bare stage, minimum 4 metres x 4 metres
Capacity for blackout and stage lighting
Sound system with capability for IPod connection
Reviews
From Picture this Post
Bottegavaga Venice Theater Presents ARLEQUIN BACK IN THREE Review – Comedy Knows No Borders
Meet Bottegavaga Theater of Venice, Italy – Fringe and Beyond
From Primary Times
Primary Times Children’s Choice Awards review of Harlequin returned in three
The Scotsman
Vanni Carpenedo, as a scheming servant and harlequin clown Arlecchino, is a delight, terrifying at characterful, physical theatre.
Richard Demarco, founder-member of Edinburgh Fringe. August 2019
I would like to congratulate the company and the actors for an absolutely outstanding performance. They worked magnificently. They have given me hope for the future of the Edinburgh Festival. This company is really all about the spirit of the Festival – the Festival that I have loved for 72 years. For me, it’s been one of the highlights of all the Festivals that I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy.
Ada Palmer, University of Chicago, Ed Fringe online, August 2019
Highly recommended for anyone interested in classic theatre! A wonderfully traditional Commedia dell’Arte performance, three masters of the art switching effortlessly from character to character bringing all the familiar figures to life: Pantalone, the Doctor, the lovers, performing classic lazzi (improvisational comic bits) as documented back to the 17th century. They switch back and forth from Italian to English, always providing enough English to make the action and subjects clear while letting us taste the lush regional Italian dialects which are one of the signatures of the classic characters. For anyone who hasn’t seen commedia and wants to understand how Shakespeare and his contemporaries were influenced by the enormously popular Italian theatre, this is not to be missed, and one can see the very same comic bits which recur in Henry IV, The Comedy of Errors and other theatrical treasures. A real and rare treat! We plan to see it again, since one charm of comedy is that it’s different every time!
Gabriella Cardazzo, gallery owner, researcher and videomaker. August 2019
[…] Arlecchino si fa in tre is a short show suspended between reality and imagination […]. In the dialogue between Venetian, Italian and English there is no longer any diversity. We find ourselves on a stage […] where a small group of good actors seems to want to remind us that nothing really ends and that the best can still come.
Marcella Bartuli Bishop. Teacher. December 2018
Arlecchino is torn in three is a colourful, imaginative, ingenious and entertaining piece of theatre. It cleverly combines the traditional elements of Commedia dell’Arte with a touch of modern humour. Arlecchino’s performance is remarkable for its physicality, expressivity and ability to communicate not just in the two languages but beyond language through gestures, noises and hilarious acrobatics. The whole cast acts and interacts with great energy and the bilingual jokes bounce around the stage.
Lucia Piazza. Teacher. November 2018
Arlecchino is back in three works like an injection of pure energy, sincere joy and great art! The company is first-rate!
Stefano Poli. Theatre a l’Avogaria (Venice) Director. November 2018
I decided to host Bottegavaga’s Arlecchino is Torn in Three, because it is a highly innovative, powerful and entertaining show. Not only is it a valuable production for my theatre, L’Avogaria (specialised in Commedia dell’Arte), but also for Venice itself, since it sits within the Commedia dell’Arte tradition but also renews it.
Elena Lynch. English teacher. May 2018
This show’s innovation is the use of both Italian and English in a very hilarious way but at the same time making sure the audience is never cut off from the plot. […] I had actually brought along with me an English-only-speaking person who managed to follow and grasp all of the nuances of the plot having as good a time as me during the performance.
Dr Valerie Kaneko-Lucas. Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy. International Federation for Theater Research. Society for Theater Research. April 2018
Commedia dell’Arte is a demanding form of masked theatre, requiring excellent physicality, comic timing and storytelling skills to captivate its audience. Bottegavaga’s reinterpretation of Goldoni’s masterpiece happily fulfils them all. Amazingly, it’s performed by 3 versatile actors play all the roles with gusto and humour. Adapt in both Italian and English, this trio shifts seamlessly between star-crossed lovers, pompous doctors, and money-hungry old men. Vanni Carpenedo is a delight as Arlecchino, the servant with two masters, two jobs and too much to handle. Carpenedo is a natural clown, moving with elfin grace between his two masters. Betty Andriolo plays the love-lorn Beatrice, come in disguise to Venice in search her love as well as a pedantic professor. Christian Renzicchi is a masterful presence as Pantalone and also as the self-regarding lover Florindo. It’s a joyful and enjoyable show – and wonderful to see in Venice, the city where Commedia dell’Arte is still a living and lively art form.
