Shammah Andrée Ruth

The artistic history of Andrée Ruth Shammah was born at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan with Giorgio Strehler and Paolo Grassi, but materialized with the opening of the Salone Pier Lombardo, today Teatro Franco Parenti, founded in 1972 together with other artists and intellectuals such as Franco Parenti, Giovanni Testori, Dante Isella and Gianmaurizio Fercioni.

Since 1989 she has been the sole manager of the Franco Parenti Theater Cooperative, a cultural reference for the city of Milan; not just a place for entertainment, but a meeting and discussion point that has welcomed, among others, artists such as Peter Brook, Robert Wilson, Patrice Chéreau, Eduardo De Filippo.

Artistic director, animator, organizer; her work is constantly careful to safeguard the quality level and cultural coherence that lies at the origins of the birth of the Theater.

All-round director and artist as well as an entrepreneur, during her long career she has signed over one hundred theater directions (many of which are now in the history of Italian theater) directing, among other artists such as Franco Parenti, Isabella Ferrari, Antonio Albanese, Gioele Dix, Carlo Cecchi.

She made her debut, very young, with the Trilogy by Giovanni Testori Ambleto / Macbetto / Edipus; shows capable of bringing interesting innovations to the Italian theater of the seventies, not only for the quality of the texts, but also for the originality of the stagings, careful to favor different spaces than those of the traditional stage.

Her creative power does not arise from the armor of a technical preparation worn to fulfill a role but expands outwards and lights that fuse which, by connecting head and heart, kneads what seems distant and extraneous, constantly giving life to something new and beautiful – Susanna Garavaglia.

Over time, the non-traditional use of theatrical space has become a characteristic of her direction, which he has proposed and explored in shows such as Il Maggiore Barbara by G.B. Shaw, The forest at night by Gaetano Sansone, The double fickleness of Marivaux, Timon of Athens; shows of great strength and experimentation. Examples of open theater free from rigid manneristic settings.

With a contemporary sensibility, Andrée Ruth Shammah restores humanity, emotion and universality to texts such as Io, l’erede by Eduardo De Filippo, Heracle by Euripides with Franco Branciaroli, L’amante by Pinter with Luca De Filippo and Anna Galiena.

Always faithful to her own particular style and inventive creed: that of a reality lived in contact with the world of fantasy and fairy tales, he gives life to the directions of The Knights of King Arthur, Peter Pan, Ondine, Life, the dream and in The Search for the Grail.

However, he has not stopped investing in texts by contemporary authors, little known and little represented, chosen for their quality and ability to investigate our individual and collective identity. Burning and lively themes such as those of power, old age and abuse are returned to the public with intelligence and sensitivity, in shows such as Una notte in Tunisia by Vitaliano Trevisan with Alessandro Haber, Solemn funerals by Antonio Tarantino with Ivana Monti, Thin things in Massimo Sgorbani’s aria.

The critical and public success was unanimous for Antonio and Cleopatra at the races by Roberto Cavosi, Special Prize of the Riccione Jury 2007 and finalist in the trio of Eti Oscar del Teatro 2009 awards.

Her most recent works range from the personal and contemporary reworking of classics such as A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen with Filippo Timi, The Imaginary Invalid by Molière with Gioele Dix, to shows that are by their nature much less “classical” but of great value and charm such as Memorie di Adriana, with Adriana Asti and Cita a ciegas by the Argentine playwright Mario Diament, I Promessi sposi alla prova by Giovanni Testori with Luca Lazzareschi and Laura Marinoni, all accompanied by great success with audiences and critics.

Her how “Knives in the hens” with a powerful text by David Harrower, debuted at the Napoli Teatro Festival on 29 June 2019, also on stage at the Festival dei 2Mondi in Spoleto from 5 to 14 July 2019.

He has also signed the direction of theatrical projects in video for Rai and several opera directions, two of which, Varieté by Kagel and L’Elisir d’amore by Donizetti, for the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

The Milanese artist’s ability to transform every corner of the space in which he works, creates, expresses himself, sharing her every creative breath with the public should also be recognized. Just think of the former Caimi swimming pool transformed into the Bagni Misteriosi. A unique project in Italy, which aims to integrate culture and well-being through the reunification of the spaces of the Franco Parenti Theater with the adjacent ones in the centre: over 15,000 square meters of public space recovered and returned to the citizens, where scenic and performing arts, sports and games stimulate and contaminate each other.

In 2013 he celebrated her 40-year career, receiving a double recognition for the best Artistic Direction and the best Programming/Production of the Franco Enriquez Prize, awarded by the homonymous Center for International Drama Studies.

Among the numerous awards that have been conferred on her, we recall the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award in 2011, the “Paolo Emilio Poesio” Critics Award 2015 from the National Association of Theater Critics, the Marisa Bellisario “Mela d’oro” Award in 2016.

On 14 July 2019 she was appointed Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur by the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron.

For her intellectual restlessness, for her questioning of everything, which sometimes becomes a creative approach and research method in her artistic projects and in her direction, Andrée Ruth Shammah undoubtedly occupies a unique place in the Italian theater scene.