The Storyteller of Connections: Marco Paolini’s Civic and Ecological Theatre

Abstract

This article offers a comprehensive study of Marco Paolini’s theatrical trajectory, situating his work within contemporary Italian cultural, political, and media contexts. It traces the evolution of his practice from the emergence of autobiographical storytelling within the Laboratorio Teatro Settimo to his development of a distinctive form of investigative and civic theatre. Central to Paolini’s poetics is the transformation of theatre into a space of collective memory construction, where narration becomes an act of inquiry, responsibility, and shared witnessing. Through landmark works such as Vajont, I-TIGI: Canto per Ustica, and Parlamento chimico, Paolini redefines the relationship between performance and reality, blending documentation, oral history, and dramaturgy in a transmedial framework. The study also highlights his shift towards ecological theatre, particularly in projects such as La Fabbrica del Mondo, where environmental crisis and future-oriented memory become central concerns. Across his career, Paolini emerges as a storyteller-witness whose solo presence on stage is counterbalanced by extensive collaborative networks and participatory audience structures. Drawing on Fernando Marchiori’s notion of ‘reticular theatre’, the article ultimately argues that Paolini’s work reconfigures authorship, spectatorship, and civic engagement, positioning theatre as an active space for social reflection and collective imagination.