Die Aristokraten
OE Production
with Michele Eburnea
written by Sasha Marianna Salzmann
edited by Verlag der Autoren (Francoforte s.M.)
unpublished translation by Monica Marotta

The German playwright and writer of Russian origin, non-binary, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, writes in 2016 The Aristocrats, a study on the thin blanket of civilization in a dehumanized society. Winner of many awards and recognitions and translated in Italy by Marsilio, the writer arrives on the Bassano stage. The text features a young woman Sasha and a young man Shura inside an attic while below them there is a city destroyed by war and divided on two fronts, as well as the two young men, now divided, now enemies. But a long time ago, Sasha has been hosted by Shura's family. Shura claims he killed a person they both have an abusive past with. But the dead man was not buried, which particularly upsets Sasha. Thus begins a dialogue, a struggle against the loss of civilization in which are at stake: the struggle for food, the burial of the dead; moving forward or starting over in the midst of war. There seems to be no escape and they are inside it as in an infinite loop.