The Jester, the Fool the Storyteller

MANDATORY. The Zoom link will be provided on the day of the event. For all information, please contact the coordinator of the lecture series, Laura Caparrotti, at info@kitheater.com. What does it mean to tell a story? And why, thousands of years later, are we still captivated by the same ancient art? On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Dario Fo’s birth, this four-part series takes participants on a fascinating journey through the history of storytelling—from the traveling storytellers of ancient Greece and the Sicilian Cunto, to medieval jesters, Shakespearean fools, the oral traditions of Italian villages, and finally the extraordinary gramelot made famous by Fo. Through stories, demonstrations, historical anecdotes, and hands-on exercises, participants will discover how the storyteller uses voice, rhythm, breath, language, gesture, imagination, and the relationship with the audience to transform words into theater. Encounter 2 The Jester, the Fool the Storyteller From the medieval langue d’oc traditions to the wandering jesters of Europe, storytelling became deeply connected to entertainment, satire, politics, and social commentary. Who were the jesters? Where did they come from? What role did they play in society? And what were they really communicating underneath the jokes and the laughter? The journey continues into Shakespearean fools—characters who can say what others cannot, using humor, irony, intelligence, and performance to reveal uncomfortable truths. This session explores the fascinating connection between the medieval jester, the Shakespearean fool, and the storyteller as a performer who can entertain, provoke, criticize, and sometimes, tell the truth. In ENGLISH