And the night came… Stories of witches, goblins and mysterious creatures
Text collected from oral tradition
E venne la notte is a real trigomigo, a set of intertwining stories, an Occitan term meaning intertwining, tangle, something difficult to unravel.
Once upon a time these stories were told by storytellers who travelled around the villages and in addition to telling stories these men bought objects, sold ointments, and cured minor and major ailments.
Or they were legends that were listened to in the warmth of the stable, warmed by compliant cows, on winter evenings, by the light of a single lamp. Taken from the oral tales of grandparents, of the old men of the village and of the hamlet, the stories of the show are the fruit of a work of research and collection of popular memory that lasted more than ten years in the territory of the Alpine valleys of Cuneo.
Through the use of objects and figures of peasant memory, mysterious characters come to life: Candy, the snow ghost; Cavalàs, an untamed and furious wild horse; Louv Ravàs, the werewolf; Barbabiciu cutela, the child-eating ogre; the canett, the souls of the dead transformed into dogs; the Servan, an invisible and mischievous elf; the terrible Sabroto; the Longo, the masca, the witch, par excellence; and of course the Devil, willing even to saw a mountain in two, just to conquer a soul to damn. The show uses objects and tools of peasant memory that in the hands of the actor are gradually transformed into the characters of the stories.
