As part of the Ravenna Festival programme, on 29th May the Artificerie Almagià will host the performance STORIA DEL NUOVO COGNOME. L’AMICA GENIALE A FUMETTI VOL. 2 by the theatre company Fanny & Alexander.
The show is adapted from the second volume of the graphic novel by Chiara Lagani and Mara Cerri (Coconino Press) based on Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend (E/O), and is therefore also part of Coconino Fest 2026.
On stage are two actresses who symbolise theatrical experimentation in Italy, Lagani and Menni, in the roles of Lila and Lenù who, once grown up, face new and difficult trials: the former is grappling with an early and unhappy marriage, the latter with her studies, the only possible path to redemption.
The show, directed by De Angelis, unfolds around the large collage created by the two protagonists: the story takes shape before our eyes, in a sort of poetic accumulation of landscapes and characters drawn by Mara Cerri who, having magically stepped out of the comic strip, come to life in a tale that is at once a hymn to friendship, to liberation from prejudice and to the power of the imagination.
Fanny & Alexander
The Story of the New Surname
My Brilliant Friend: The Comic – Volume 2
with Chiara Lagani and Fiorenza Menni
artwork Mara Cerri
direction, set design, lighting, video and music Luigi Noah De Angelis
dramaturgy and costumes Chiara Lagani
multimedia design Voxel
sound design Vincenzo Scorza
technical supervision Gianni Gamberin, Vincenzo Scorza,
organisation and promotion Andrea Martelli, Marco Molduzzi
administration Stefano Toma
Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May
DISEGNARE L’AMICA GENIALE
Where: MAR – Museo d’Arte della città di Ravenna
Time: from 9 am to 1 pm
Workshop by Mara Cerri illustrator (Premio Andersen 2025)
in collaboration with Coconino Fest
