LIBRA – a play on satellite mega-constellations

At the end of September 2022, I’ve had the pleasure to visit Reggio Calabria, at the far South-Western tip of Italy, where the theatre play I co-wrote opened the Cosmos Festival 2022.

LIBRA – The Play

It is 2042, and a global corporation has taken over the market of satellite-based internet ads. The sky is blighted by satellites and real stars have all but been obliterated. At the same time, a strange syndrome spreads around the planet, with people feeling compelled to buy the same object (online, of course) over and over again.

Virgil, a middle manager working as a supervisor at the satellite company, makes a startling discovery, which might hold the key to cure his wife from the strange syndrome while putting him on collision course with the all-powerful overlord of the very company he works for. Helped by Bice, a young woman with special powers, and his trustworthy holographic AI (Ed44), he will have to try and save the world against all odds.

LIBRA – The Tech

The play uses a futuristic narration to draw attention to the problem of mega-constellations (it also contains a strong message about diversity, as the young heroine is neurodiverse), and is a technically innovative mix of live theatre with on-screen and 3D animated characters: the AI is moulded on the features of Dr Edward Krupp, the charismatic director of Griffith Observatory. Thanks to spectacular 3D mapping, LIBRA has transformed the facade of Miramare Castle (Trieste), the Gradisca Fortress (Gorizia) and the Castello Aragonese (Reggio Calabria) in an uncanny, futuristic and dystopic city.

From a subject by: Gigi Funcis, Roberto Trotta

A play by: Gigi Funcis, Giulia Corallo

Starring: Lorenzo Acquaviva, Lucrezia Fantini, Davide Rossi

With the generous support of Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia e di SISSA – Scuola Internazionale di Studi Superiori Avanzati, Trieste.