They called them “sos laribiancos”, “those with white lips”: it was the distinctive, unmistakable sign of the poor people of Arasolè, a small village in Sardinia, bordering the forests of Goceano. Sos laribiancos were immediately recognizable: they ate little meat, few carbohydrates, few proteins… they ate too little.
The show was born from a deep interest and consideration for the work of Francesco Masala. On several occasions the poet-writer from Nughedu San Nicolò expressed to me his desire to see the theatrical text Sos laribiancos on stage, in the Sardinian Logudorese version. “… and if instead of a faithful staging, I tried to narrate the story?”
Thus was born a story that draws on both the novel Quelli dalle labbra bianche, and other works by Masala where Culubiancu, Mammutone, Tric Trac, and the other laribiancos of Arasolè appear repeatedly, leaving on a sunny afternoon in 1940, on a cattle car, to go to war. Where possible I tried to leave the poetic suggestion of the author’s words unaltered. At the same time, I hope with the right respect, I had to choose, add, assemble, betray.
