from Xhuliano Dule, Aleksandros Memetaj, Yoris Petrillo
with Aleksandros Memetaj
scenes Federico Biancalani
production Anonima Teatri/Twain Centro Produzione Danza
supported by Mic – Ministero della Cultura e Regione Lazio
artist residency at Spazio Fani e Supercinema – Tuscania
premiere first study – Festival Dramma Popolare 2025 – San Miniato

Forte Lisser in Enego, built at the beginning of the 20th century to protect the old border with the Empire, overlooks the Valsugana, serving as a powerful testimony to the madness of war. This is the setting for the story of Il mulo e l’alpino (The Mule and the Alpino), the story of Giuseppe Beghin, Bepi, from Bassano del Grappa, forced to live through the absurdity of war during the Italian invasion of Albania in 1941.

When he is sent to the front, the promises of a lightning war prove to be illusory. Unable to fight, he is assigned the task of driving an alpine mule, which he renames Grappa, after his beloved mountain. The war robs him of the few friends he has left and, overwhelmed by fear, Bepi deserts and finds comfort in the arms of Doruntina, a woman he met during a leave, with whom he builds a fleeting life.

This is not a story of heroes or saints. It is not a story of extraordinary men and heroic women. It is a story of war that took place in parts of the world where mountains and countryside still creak with the bones of the dead. It is the story of a deserter, driven by fear rather than courage. A human being like many others, like us. His story and that of his mule: Grappa. A story that becomes a symbol of all human lives marked by war and the search for a better future, carrying a message of hope and humanity.

The text was written by two young authors: Xhuliano Dule and Aleksandros Memetaj (who also performs), both born in Albania and raised in Veneto, now esteemed authors and performers of our theater.

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