Beppe Severgnini – La vita è un viaggio

There is no need for too many words to begin: it only takes twenty, like the kilograms allowed per baggage on a plane (economy class).

Two travellers, a mature man and a young woman who don’t know each other, meet in a non-place: a small airport where they remain stuck all night because their flights have been cancelled . At first they study one another, perhaps with a hint of mistrust. He’s afraid of being paternalistic, she fears being naive. He talks, she listens. She asks, he answers. As time passes, the forced intimacy changes their relationship: they realize to have traveled widely, discussing arrivals, departures and luggages. Then they talk about talent and tenacity, timing and tenderness, discovering that fear – in life as well as in business – is inevitable and perhaps necessary. They speak of briefness and precision, essential qualities in these busy times;  they discuss the importance of having guides and reference points and the wisdom of finding satisfaction in life’s simple things.

They speak of pitfalls to avoid and consolations at hand; of what one brings along and what one must leave behind; of what is left behind and should be kept instead. Time slips by, the night passes, until it’s dawn and the airport opens again. It’s time to go: each their own way, perhaps a different one from what they had imagined . One night can changes many things, regardless of age.

There is a third person on stage, another traveler stuck at the airport: Elisabetta Spada, aka Kiss & Drive. The young woman, attentive and silent, fills the wait with her guitar and her songs. A musical punctuation to the amazing story that takes place before his eyes, and those of the public.

Marta Isabella Rizi is artistic co-director of “Flying Cloud” theatre.  She trained at the East15 Academy of London and works as an actress across Italy and England.

Beppe Severgnini is a columnist for “Corriere della Sera” and opinion writer for “The New York Times.” Author of 15 books, “Life is a journey” is his playwriting and acting debut. It’s the first time that an Italian journalist in activity brings a character on stage.