Carbon

by Pier Lorenzo Pisano
Translated by Atri Banerjee

Themes: Extra-terrestrial life/space travel Existentialism/nature of reality Grief/trauma

Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller, Surreal

Age recommendation: 12+ (some strong language)

Number of characters: 3 (1F, 1M, 1 unspecified)

Country: Italy

Original language: Italian

Description:
A man has had an encounter with an extra-terrestrial creature that has warped his sense of self, time and reality. A woman – a state authority of some kind – interrogates him to try to understand what happened. Their conversation takes us on an entirely unexpected journey through grief, alternative realities, and what it means to be human. Playing with dramatic and post-dramatic conventions in equal measure, this extraordinary science fiction play also reflects on our civilization by looking back at how it represented itself in the Voyager Golden Record images sent to outer space in 1977.

Winner of the prestigious Premio Riccione 2021.

Selected for the 2022 Berlin Theatertreffen and Eurodram 2022.

First performed at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan in June 2022.

Buy Italian play here.

Currently, the English translation of Carbon is available upon request. Please email us at piponlineresource@gmail.com.

DOWNLOAD EDUCATION PACK

Download interview with playwright

+ DETAILS

Author: Pier Lorenzo Pisano

Original language: Italian

Translator: Atri Banerjee

Publisher: Il Saggiatore (21 Jun. 2022)

World Premiere (in the Ital. lang.): Piccolo Teatro di Milano

Education Pack Resource Writers: Atri Banerjee and Marco Young

+ CHARACTERS

A, a woman, age not specified though mother to a grown-up child, so middle-aged. An official for an unspecified organisation. Tasked with interrogating B.

B, a man, age not specified (though a father to a young daughter). An ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, interrogated by A

A Voice, age and gender unspecified. Unclear whether it is human. Exists only as an amplified voice over a microphone

+ PLAY TEXT BLURB

The play has two interweaving strands.

In the first strand, A, a woman, and B, a man, sit in a dark room. A is interrogating B about his recent encounter with an alien.

In the second strand, a voice takes the audience through the images sent on the “Voyager Golden Record” from 1977, launched into space as a record of life on Earth for any intelligent extraterrestrial life forms who might come across it. The voice itemises these images in surreal and darkly comic language.

Currently, the English translation of Carbon is available upon request. Please email us at piponlineresource@gmail.com.