Romeo Castellucci Democracy in America

[Theatre]

With images of outstanding beauty, Romeo Castellucci takes us in the footsteps of Tocqueville in the discovery of American democracy, born under the aegis of God and the puritan faith. Construed in the midst of the violence of territorial conquests and civil war, this democracy is set in stone by a legal framework that is seemingly beyond repute. 
Alexis de Tocqueville sensed that an irreversible movement was going to turn XIXth century Europe in the direction of greater political, economic and social freedoms. In order to enquire into a precursory system stemming from the American revolution, he set off on a nine month-long journey of discovery across this “democratic” continent. His keen eye, observations and questions he poses are of such lucidity and foresight that Romeo Castellucci was immediately cast under his spell. In order to make theatre out of retracing Tocqueville’s footsteps, the Italian director returns to the origins of tragedy, a primary form born out of Greek democratic tradition. The play looks at the advent of this new democracy from different viewpoints: the bright promises of a political system steeped in egalitarianism, the possible dangers of a system in which the majority always holds sway over the minority, religious puritanism and the inherent violence of the territorial conquests. Castellucci transposes them into an enticing, celebratory piece of theatre.